Tender chicken in a tangy, sweet, and slightly spicy sauce, this pulled chicken sandwich is so delicious!
You could make a pretty darn good sandwich but just cooking chicken and adding bottled barbecue sauce. But by cooking the chicken in the sauce the flavors become more infused into the meat.
Granted, homemade sauce takes a little longer than opening a bottle. But I think the results are worth it.
Ingredients:
Chicken breast: One boneless, skinless chicken breast yields two nice sized sandwiches.
Onions, Red Onions and garlic: Sautéed in butter until tender; they add flavor and texture to sauce.
Ketchup: The tangy, tomato flavor provides the base of the sauce.
Sweet Chili Sauce: I love this stuff! A perfect mix of sweet and spicy. I buy the bottled variety, but you can also make your own.
Water: Brings the ingredients together.
Brown sugar: Barbecue sauce always contains a sweet element.
Balsamic vinegar and apple cider vinegar: Adds acidity and tang to the sauce.
Worcestershire sauce: Adds savory flavor.
Mustard powder: Tang and spice.
Paprika: Adds great red color.
Cumin: A little more spice.
Lemon Juice: Adds acidity and brightness to the sauce.
Hot sauce: If you like your sandwiches spicy! I always use sriracha sauce.
Instructions:
Combine all the sauce ingredients in a bowl. Stir well and set aside.
Melt butter in a large shallow frying pan. Sauté the red onions and red bell pepper until starting to get tender. Add garlic and stir for one minute.
Pour the sauce ingredients in the frying pan and then slide the chicken into the sauce. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Take care not to over-cook the chicken, so it doesn’t get tough.
Once cooked, pull the chicken out of the liquid and cool slightly. Pull or cut the chicken into small bite-sized pieces.
Keep simmering the sauce as it thickens. Once thickened add the chicken back to the sauce and heat through. Add freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Divide the meat between two or three sandwich buns. Make sure to get every last drop of sauce!
A pulled chicken sandwich is delicious with a crunchy coleslaw or oven fries.
Pulled Chicken Sandwich
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp butter
- ¼ cup red onion finely chopped
- ¼ cup red bell pepper finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
Sauce
- ⅓ cup ketchup
- 2 Tbsp sweet chili sauce
- ½ cup water
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ tsp mustard powder
- ¼ tsp paprika powder
- ¼ tsp cumin
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1-2 drops hot sauce optional
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients for the sauce and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a shallow frying pan. Add the red onion and red bell pepper and sauté until starting to soften. Add the garlic and sauté for one more minute.
- Pour sauce ingredients into the frying pan and stir. Slide the chicken breast into the sauce and bring mixture to a heavy simmer. Cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked; about 15 minutes.
- Once the chicken is done pull from the sauce and allow to cool slightly. Allow the sauce to continue to simmer, cooking down and thickening until it resembles BBQ sauce. This will take another 10-15 minutes.
- Pull or slice the chicken into small pieces. When the sauce is nearly cooked down put the chicken back in the sauce and heat through.
- Add black pepper to taste and serve on buns.
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