Pulled chicken is such a delicious and easy dish to make! You can do all sorts of things with the pulled chicken itself. Try making a pulled chicken sandwich, for example, or add it to your chicken taco’s.
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Why this Recipe Works
Making your own pulled chicken isn’t just simple, it’s also easy to prepare in both the oven and a slow cooker. I’ve listed the options for both methods below. Handy so you can choose whatever works best for you at the moment!
Pulled Chicken Ingredients
To make this delicious homemade pulled chicken, you’ll need a few ingredients. I’ve listed them below:
- Chicken fillet, I chose boneless and skinless chicken breast
- Spices, for this recipe I used a combination of smoked paprika, cumin, ginger, salt and pepper
- Aromatics, the classics like onion and garlic are perfect in this recipe
- Liquids, to keep things nice and tender I used ketchup, mustard, vinegar, honey and soy sauce as the base for the pulled chicken to cook in
- Buns, or soft rolls to serve the chicken on
How do you Make Pulled Chicken?
Pulled chicken is very similar to pulled pork but uses chicken instead of pork. To make pulled chicken, you don’t really need much. Except, of course, chicken breast and the necessary spices to give the chicken its flavor. Personally, I think the slow cooker is a fantastic appliance for this. The slow cooking and low temperature keep the chicken nice and juicy. Deliciously tender chicken is, of course, what you want.
The spices you add ultimately give it its flavor, and the sauce is also essential. It’s delicious served with a crisp cabbage salad or coleslaw, for example.
Oven Roasted or Slow Cooked?
When preparing in the slow cooker, place the onions and garlic at the bottom of the bowl. Add the chicken breast and the sauce on top. Depending on the type of slow cooker, set it to low or 195 degrees Fahrenheit / 90 Celsius and let it cook gently for 5.5 hours.
If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can of course also prepare this easy pulled chicken recipe in the oven. It’s almost the same as the slow cooker method and just as easy.
Set the oven to a low temperature, the same temperature als the slow cooker. This mimics the slow cooking process of the slow cooker. Place the chicken breast in a baking dish with the herbs and spices. Pour the sauce over it and cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake in the oven for about 4 hours. After that, the chicken is easy to pull apart with two forks.
Pulled Chicken Sandwich
Who doesn’t love a tasty, spicy pulled chicken sandwich? I serve this on a soft roll or make these delicious sesame buns myself. The pulled chicken goes really well with them, too. Then fill the pulled chicken sandwich generously with coleslaw and the sauce to finish it off.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is pulled chicken?
“Pulled chicken” is the English term for “shredded chicken.” It’s a method of slow-cooking chicken and then pulling it apart, hence the name. This changes the texture and makes the chicken even more delicious!
How do I ensure tender chicken?
By cooking the chicken slowly and adding sauce, it stays nice and tender. If you want it even more tender, you can also make pulled chicken with chicken thigh fillets. They contain just a bit more fat and therefore stay tender longer.
How long can I keep the chicken?
You can store pulled chicken in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, but it also freezes well. It will keep for 2-3 months.
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Ingredients
- 600 gram chicken breast
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- 0.5 tsp ginger powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 large onion (sliced into half-rings)
- 2 clove garlic (minced)
- 200 ml ketchup (Heinz)
- 30 gram mustard
- 3 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1.5 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 75 ml water
- 200 ml ketchup
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
Equipment
- Large bowl
- Slow Cooker
- Baking dish
- Aluminum foil
- Small saucepan
INSTRUCTIONS (how to make this recipe):
Preparation – Slow Cooker:
- Season the chicken breast with paprika, cumin, ginger, salt, and pepper to taste.
- For the sauce, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix briefly.
- In the slow cooker pot, place the onion and garlic at the bottom. Place the chicken breast on top.
- Now pour the sauce over the top and mix it briefly with two large spoons.
- Set the slow cooker to 90°C/194˚F or the low setting. Let it cook gently for 5.5 hours.
- Once the chicken is cooked, you can easily pull the chicken breast pieces apart with two forks. Delicious with a brioche bun and crisp coleslaw.
Preparation – Oven:
- Preheat the oven to 90°C/194˚F (top and bottom heat) and season the chicken.
- Take a large baking dish and place the onion, garlic, and chicken inside. Make the sauce and pour the sauce over it and mix briefly.
- Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil.
- Place the baking dish in the oven for 4 hours.
- When the chicken is cooked through, pull it apart using two forks. You can do this right in the dish, but it’s often a bit easier to remove the chicken first. Then return the pulled chicken to the sauce.
- Serve the pulled chicken on soft buns with crisp coleslaw.
Make extra sauce for serving:
- Take a small saucepan and add all the ingredients for the extra sauce.
- Bring to a boil and let simmer gently over low heat for 10-15 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.
- Serve the sauce with your pulled chicken.
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