Spicy Pulled Chicken on Homemade Cheddar Buns

Spicy Pulled Chicken
Makes about 8 servings

Ingredients

For the Chicken:
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon oil (such as olive oil or canola)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 jalepeno, seeded and chopped (leave seeds in for more heat)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups tomato puree (I used passata- strained tomatoes)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1/4 cup hot sauce (I used frank’s)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne peper
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoon smoked paprika
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

For the Slaw:
about 2 cups Red or white cabbage sliced very thin, or used pre-cut
about 3  rounded tablespoons plain greek yogurt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
salt and freshly ground pepper
juice of half a lime, about 1 tablespoon

Homemade Cheddar Buns- I omitted the jalepenos, but you can certainly leave them in, and reduced the sugar to 2 tablespoons.

Instructions

For the chicken:

1. In a large, heavy bottomed pot, heat the butter and oil over medium heat. Add the onion and jalepenos and cook until softened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add in the tomato puree, brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, vinegar, hot sauce, cayenne, chilli powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until mixture has thickened slightly. Add in the chicken thighs, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for an hour to an hour and a half, or until chicken is completely cooked and tender.

2. Remove from heat. The chicken should be very tender, and able to be pulled apart with the back of a wooden spoon. Using 2 forks, inside the pot, pull the chicken apart. This is easy and won’t take long because it is very tender. Allow the chicken to sit in the sauce for a while to absorb all the flavour, about 1/2 hour or longer. Reheat before serving.

For the slaw:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the greek yogurt, chilli powder, salt, pepper, and lime juice. Add in the shredded cabbage and toss to coat just prior to serving. Serve over the pulled chicken.

Jessica’s Notes:

• Although I used homemade buns for this, feel free to use any bun you wish.
• For the chicken, feel free to adjust the spice level to your taste. You can reduce or increase the hot sauce, jalepenos, and cayenne.
• You can use chicken breast instead if you wish, although I think chicken thighs have more flavour and are more tender.
• If you make this with a slow cooker come back and let me know how it turns out!
• This recipe is easily halved or doubled.

Buns adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride.