Shredded BBQ Chicken

On Sunday we woke up, read the news and with very heavy hearts went about our day. We did laundry, I made a lemon pie, we talked about our plans for the week, we took Feynman to the dog park and all the while one word kept echoing through my mind: why? As we went about our normal Sunday routine I also couldn’t help but think “we’re so lucky to go to the dog park, so lucky to think about what we’re doing tomorrow, so lucky to have each other, our friends, our family.” What is normally mundane, go-about-your-life stuff that Sunday’s are made of suddenly had a whole new meaning. When a senseless tragedy arrives in such a random way it makes me hold tighter to what doesn’t feel random in my life.

Sunday night we poured two glasses of wine and made dinner. We talked, sorted through feelings, and addressed some fears. We hugged a little tighter that night.

Normalcy is good therapy and while I was tempted to skip out on posting for the next few days, I decided that would make it worse. My heart is breaking for our country and everyone impacted by this tragic event, but my heart also knows it’s a powerful thing to make something and share it with the people you care about. Food has a way of bringing out the love and I’m sure we could all use a little bit more of that now.

With all that said, I’m keeping it short today.

Shredded BBQ Chicken

There are a few things to know about these BBQ chicken sandwiches. First, they’re easy to make thanks to a simple homemade BBQ sauce and a slow cooker, which means it’s not a stretch to think about prepping it on a weekday morning for dinner that same night. There’s not a single thing to chop or dice and all it takes is a couple of stirs to bring the sauce together. Browning the chicken is also quick so in about 15 minutes everything’s prepped and you’re good to go. Eight hours later just shred the chicken, pile it on hamburger buns with an extra spoonful of sauce and dinner is done.

Shredded BBQ Chicken

• Author: Girl Gone Gourmet
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 4 hours
• Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes
• Yield: 8

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 1/2 to 3 pounds bone-in skin-on chicken breasts
• Salt & pepper
• 2 cups ketchup
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 8 hamburger buns
• Dill pickle slices (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Season the chicken on all sides with salt and pepper. Place the chicken skin side down in the pan and cook it just until the skin has browned. Remove it from the pan.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, and spices.
3. Place the chicken breasts in a slow cooker. Pour half of the sauce over the top, cover the slow cooker and cook on high for four hours or on low for eight hours. Reserve the other 1/2 of the sauce for serving.
4. Remove the chicken breasts from the slow cooker. Using two forks, carefully separate the meat from the bones and skin and shred it. Discard the bones and skin.
5. Add the shredded chicken back to the slow cooker. Stir until it’s well coated in the sauce, cover, and let it warm through again with the cooker set on high.
6. Serve on buns with a spoonful of the extra sauce and dill pickle slices.

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