How to: Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken

Even though I just ate dinner and I’m stuffed, my mouth is watering like crazy looking at the photo below.   Slow cooked meat brings about something primal in me.  GRRRrrrrr….

(that’s me growling like a cavewoman)

If you haven’t already, time to lug that slow cooker out!

Slow cooked meals are a perfect solution for us busy folk.  Set it in the morning, fuggetabboutit and BOOM dinner is ready when you walk in the door.

This recipe for pulled chicken is simple but it also has a bit of homemade flair since you’re making the sauce. You can keep it even simpler by using our Braised Beef sauce recipe.

I’ve got one of the those slow cookers with the removable inner pot. Or at least I did (more on that to come).  The inner pot thingy is handy for photo shoots on the hardwood floor.

As I was testing this recipe, I found the liquid to chicken ratio was too high, which is why I recommend straining out at least half the liquid from the diced tomatoes.

Once the chicken is in, toss it all about until everything is well incorporated.

Voila – officially slow cooked.

The warm thighs will easily pull apart.  Good luck not snacking while you do this.

Now add the pulled chicken back in to your delicious sauce. You’ve probably noticed the pot above is not my slow cooker. Weelll, I actually made my chicken the day before I used it – I was in a rush at the time and put the whole inner pot in the fridge until I was ready to use it the next day.  Because the chicken doesn’t pull well cold, I put the inner pot on low heat over the stove, and well – it’s not meant to go on the stove. period.  The pot’s bottom cracked and sprung a leak, thus ruining the slow cooker.

I didn’t give up on my meal of course – I quickly transferred the sauce to a saucepan and took it from there.

Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken

Print recipe

Serves	8
Prep time	10 minutes

Ingredients

• 2lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 - 28 ounce can diced tomatoes (strain out about 1/2 the liquid from the can)
• 1 Medium onion (chopped)
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons chili powder

Note

This chicken is equally as delicious if you leave it un-pulled and simply serve it over rice or quinoa.

Directions

1.	Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker and stir to coat chicken well
2.	Cook in slow cooker on the High setting for 2 hours or Low setting for 6-8 hours
3.	Skim the fat/oil from the top of the sauce, remove chicken thighs from the slow cooker and using two forks or tongs and a fork pull the chicken apart.
4.	Add the pulled chicken back to slow cooker to combine with sauce

This recipe has a variety of uses – you can eat it as-is over rice or quinoa, you can pile it atop a slider bun or do as I do and make tacos!

This is my version of a great corn and red pepper salsa.

Dice your veggies, heat them in a sauce pan with a little olive oil until slightly soft, add corn and stir until heated through, then add a squeeze of lime juice with salt and pepper to taste.

This salsa takes about 15 minutes to make, including prep time, from start to finish.

I like a good crunch in my taco so I use cabbage slaw as an alternative to lettuce.  We’re also talking good nutrition bang for your buck if you’re in to that kinda thing.

This incredibly simple sauce is packed with flavour.  A couple of tablespoons of mayo and the juice and zest from one lime. Trust me. You could use greek yogurt or sour cream too, but you only need a drizzle and it provides such great flavour.

And lookie here – Lunch leftovers! I’ve separated the hot and cold fillings to recreate dinner as closely as possible – key to making your co-workers jealous. 😉

Erin