Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Slow-Cooker Spicy Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours

Grade: A-
Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (January 2011)

Wow, I haven't cooked anything, not even old standbys for a month. I was working at a client very far from home and just didn't have time. I've had more sandwiches in the past month, than I care to admit, but finally this is a sandwich that involved some effort (but not too much) and felt like real cooking.

This is a lightened recipe from the January issue of Everyday Food. I need to start cooking from that magazine more now that I'm busier than I used to be. My success rate with these recipes is not quite as high as Cook's Illustrated, but the recipes are usually pretty easy and sometimes are quite good.

I don't think this sandwich probably stands up next to a full-fat version of other pulled pork or chicken sandwiches, because the sauce is pretty light. However, it is was still very good.

The best part of the recipe (see link above) is that after prepping the ingredients (which does involve the stove, this isn't a dump raw ingredients into the slow cooker recipe) you are done for 4 hours. The recipe included the tip of using a Potato masher to shred the chicken and it worked great. I was skeptical, but it worked as well as using a fork and was so easy.

I altered the recipe slightly, using all breast meat, and used 3 T of a Chipotle sauce instead of 4. It could have handled 4 T, but of course it depends on the sauce you are using. It is 8 servings so makes a lot, and the leftovers can be frozen, which is another bonus as well.