This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Wet-Nap but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #showusyourmess http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV
It’s SPRING!
While most of the time spring for me means a runny nose and itchy eyes (OMFG HELP), it also means the advent of warm weather and the return of the BBQ! But since we’re still in the middle of the remodel (Again, HELP) we aren’t living at home with our fabulous BBQ and therefore I am not getting the amount of charred meat that I’m used to at this time of year.
What’s a BBQ Lover to DO???
So I got a little inventive and decided to make up some good old BBQ chicken in the slow cooker. Just as messy, just as delicious, but no BBQ required! I was a little concerned that chicken breasts weren’t going to be as moist as I wanted, so I added in some thighs to the mix and made sure to shred the whole thing to have it soak up ALL the delicious, tasty BBQ goodness. You could also chop the chicken if you aren’t into shredding, but mmmmm, chicken soaked in delicious BBQ sauce? Yum.
And of course, when I say that this was just as messy as regular BBQ? Yeah… far be it from Hurricane Peanut to do anything but make a mess.
So better have some heavy duty cleanup on hand, especially for THIS deliciousness. Thank goodness for Wet-Nap.
CrockPot BBQ Chicken
Ingredients
2 pounds of Chicken Breasts
1.5-2 pounds of Chicken Thighs – Some people are very anti-thigh but this makes the chicken SO moist and tender. You really do need a little bit of fat to add to the chicken breasts to help them out a little.
1 Whole Onion – cut into a large dice
2 Bay Leaves
2 Cloves Garlic
5 TB of Liquid Smoke – divided
A generous helping of either Season-All or I used the Emeril Essence spice – it’s got garlic and pepper and paprika and just generally good flavor. If you don’t have it , don’t sweat the small stuff… salt and pepper will do just fine
Salt and Pepper – a generous helping of both, about 1 Tb of salt and a Tsp of pepper
A Good BBQ Sauce – Trader Joe’s tends to be delicious, but SUPER spicy. I really prefer Sweet Baby Rays… it’s the best.
*****
Into the slowcooker throw the chicken, the onion, the bay leaves, garlic, salt and pepper, extra seasoning, and 3 TB of the liquid smoke. Cover the chicken with about 1.5-2 Cups of water, or at least until it’s completely covered.
Cook on high for four hours and then check the chicken to see if it shreds easily. If not, let it go for another hour. It shouldn’t dry out because of the water and the thighs, so don’t worry.
Once the chicken is cooked through and shreddable, drain all of the juice, cooking spices and onions. RESERVE at least 2 cups of cooking liquid. <— SUPER important step.
Shred the chicken and put it back into the slow cooker along with the cooking liquid. You’ll want to eyeball it, making sure that you don’t put too much in, but just enough to keep the chicken moist and delicious.
Once you’ve got the chicken and its juice back into the slowcooker, sauce it… liberally. On
ce you’ve got your chicken nice and saucy, put the lid back on it and let it cook for at least another hour or two on low. If you’re not ready to eat, no sweat, let it sit as long as you need it to. It will stay warm in the slowcooker and will be ready and raring to go when you are.
Pair the chicken with some nice rolls, some coleslaw and maybe some french fries (or Tater Tots!) and you’ve got an amazing Spring BBQ. Even if it’s not quite warm enough outside to actually to use the grill.
Oh and feel free to make a mess.
Are you going to get messy this BBQ season? Better get some Wet-Nap wipes!!
How about a coupon to keep YOUR hurricane clean? Grab a coupon for $0.55 off any Wet-Nap product and grab some at your local Walmart like I did! *while supplies last*