Before I get into posting about the gluttony that took place last weekend at the blog-iversary party, here’s a quick post about some very versatile shredded chicken. I saw this recipe in the January issue of Everyday Food, and it grabbed my attention, specifically because of the buffalo-ness of it all, plus the fact that it’s made in a slowcooker.

This makes a lot of chicken, definitely enough for a party (Cinco de Mayo!) and I ate it in a variety of formats: piled into a soft crusty bun, like the recipe suggested, stuffed into corn tortillas with some pepper jack, salsa and sour cream (eaten quickly over the sink as Baby R made her debut on Saturday night and I was going to the hospital), and rolled into some quick enchiladas. It’s not overly spicy, or even very buffalo-y, so next time I would double the amount of Frank’s to give it more kick. This would be something amazing to make on a Sunday afternoon, and then eat for lunches or quick dinners throughout the week.

Slowcooker Shredded Buffalo Chicken

Source: Adapted from Everyday Food, January/February 2011

Ingredients

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (original recipe used a combination of 1 lb chicken thighs and 1 lb breasts)

1 medium onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 red pepper, diced

1 can (14.5oz) crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup hot-pepper sauce (i.e. Frank’s) (doubled from the original recipe)

3 tbsp worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp yellow mustard

1 tbsp molasses

Directions

  1. Heat a little bit of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and brown on both sides. Transfer to the slowcooker. (I would potentially eliminate this step next time, I’m quite lazy).
  2. Add onion, garlic, and pepper, cooking over medium heat until onion is translucent, about five minutes. Add 1/4 cup water and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Season with salt and pepper and add to the slowcooker.
  3. Add the tomatoes, hot sauce, W sauce, mustard and molasses to the slowcooker and stir everything a little bit to combine. Cover and cook on high until chicken is tender, about 4 hours.
  4. I scooped out the chicken into a big glass baking dish, shredded it with two forks, and then added all the sauce from the slowcooker and stirred it up to combine.