Slow Cooker Shredded BBQ Chicken

I ran across the recipe for Zesty Slow Cooker Chicken Barbecue on Allrecipes about a month ago and had to try it. It looked so easy to make and had great reviews (all 2,281 of them!). I was not disappointed. A lot of the flavor of course came from the barbecue sauce. We chose Sweet Baby Ray's Sweet 'n Spicy sauce which proved to be a fine choice and resulted in saucy, sweet, zippy, ever so slightly spicy chicken. It made so much that we ate it for 3 nights and then I froze the rest for later. Perfect to pull out of the freezer on a day like today when I was gone at school for 9 hours.

We've only had it on buns so far but I think it would be tasty on pizza. My first ever job was at Papa Murphy's and they used to have a BBQ chicken pizza that was made by stirring together diced chicken with barbecue sauce, spreading it on the crust, and topping with cheese, green onions, olives and a couple other things. Sounds good! In any case, I will definitely make this again in the future since it's beyond simple to make, really yummy, and makes a ton.


Slow Cooker Shredded BBQ Chicken
2 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cleaned
18 oz bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
3/4 C Italian dressing
1/3 C packed brown sugar
3 T Worcestershire sauce

In a 4 quart crock, stir together everything but the chicken. Add the chicken and turn to coat with sauce. Cook on low until chicken breasts are no longer pink in the middle. This will depend on how hot your slow cooker cooks. Mine was done in just 3 1/2 hours! When the chicken is cooked, shred it with 2 forks right in the crock. It isn't going to look pretty- the chicken is going to be stained orange and the sauce will be really thin and you may be doubting things, but keep going! Turn the temperature to high and let it all cook uncovered for about an hour to let some of the excess liquid cook off, being sure to stir every 10-15 minutes so nothing burns. Serve on toasted hamburger buns.

Yield: Enough for about 12 sandwiches. Freeze some for later!