Delicious Pulled Chicken
I love a delicious pulled chicken, it’s perfect with fries and the leftovers make great tacos or quesadillas on round two night! I have found that trying to use chicken breasts for shredding or “pulling” results in a dried out mess. The obvious answer was to use chicken thighs as there is almost no way to dry out a chicken thigh. The meat is always tender, juicy and flavorful – and these thighs cook low and slow so the spices can really develop.
I remove all of the skin to eliminate having issues with a fatty sauce and take a few extra minutes with my kitchen shears to trim around the chicken thighs leaving just nice, fat free pieces of meat to cover in the spicy rub. You could cook these in a crock pot on low for 5-6 hours but I prefer a dutch oven method. I’ve never been happy with chicken in a crock pot, it just doesn’t seem to finish to the right texture for some reason. But that’s just me. Use your crock pot if it makes you happy!
After the thighs are done, let them cool for a few minutes and they will EASILY fall off the bone. Discard the bones, throw the thigh meat back into the pot and shred the chicken…yum!
Spread some toasted buns lightly with your favorite BBQ sauce and serve with my parmesan fries and spicy bread & butter pickles. These sandwiches are absolutely delicious…I promise!
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- 6 chicken thighs skin removed
- 1 tbsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. cayenne
- 1 cup BBQ sauce
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- Remove skin from chicken thighs, spray the bottom of a heavy dutch oven with cooking spray. In a bowl mix all of the seasonings. Rub the chicken breasts with the spices.
- Pour the chicken broth in the bottom of the dutch oven, place thighs in the pan. Pour BBQ sauce over the top. Cover and cook at 275 degrees for 4 to 5 hours.
- Remove from oven, let cool for a few minutes and then pull the bones out of thighs. Using two forks pull the chicken into shreds. Mix well in all of the rendered juices.
- Butter and toast buns, spread a little BBQ sauce on one side of the bun and top with the shredded chicken.
T D
November 15, 2018
Do you put the thighs in the bottom of the Dutch over in the chicken broth? It says place chicken on pan? I’ve never cooked in our Dutch oven so I’m confused lol.
Chris
November 19, 2018
You are only putting 1/2 cup broth in the bottom of your dutch oven (a dutch oven is nothing more than a pot with a heavy bottom to prevent scorching and also create a more even cooking process) so the thighs will basically rest on top of the broth and not be completely covered until you coat them with BBQ sauce. As the thighs braise they will render more liquid into the chicken broth creating more sauce in the bottom of the pan. There are so many dutch ovens on the market these days, you will find them in all price ranges. Believe it or not mine was my mother’s and it was a wedding gift when she was married at 19 – she would be 90 years old this New Years Eve if she were still with us. So don’t hesitate to invest in a good dutch oven, you might end up passing it on to your children!
Alison
December 31, 2017
Can you use boneless thighs for this?
Chris
July 2, 2018
Absolutely! I am using the boneless thighs more and more these days as they have become easier to pick up in the stores. I honestly prefer thighs over breast meat, so much more flavorful and juicy!
Kristin
August 3, 2017
Could you use chicken breast or Thigh taste better for this recipe?
Carol
June 18, 2017
How many does this serve?? You didnt say?
Chris
June 20, 2017
Hi Carol, sorry for leaving serving size out. This recipe serves about 6, with leftovers. Hope you give it a try… it’s delicious! 🙂