Barbeque Chicken: Take 1

This week, I was inspired to do another blog post two-parter by a recipe I discovered on one of my favorite cooking blogs, Dinner: A Love Story.  The recipe was for barbeque pulled chicken and from the moment I spied it, I knew I had to give it a try.  What follows is my adaption of this fantastic recipe, which I modified only by scaling it down and keeping the onion whole so that it could be easily removed to appease my onion-hater (clearly, Jenny Rosenstrach doesn't have this problem).  I jazzed it up by serving it on buttered, toasted buns with a sweet and tangy green apple slaw.  Add a salad, maybe some roasted potatoes, and you've got a perfect accompaniment to Monday night football... or an excellent distraction from it.  Either way, yum.

Where does part two come in, you ask?  Well, my inspiration came mostly from my hatred of wasted leftovers.  You see, I had two chicken breasts in my freezer that clearly came off of one rather voluptuous chicken.  I had to defrost them both and I knew that no matter how delicious this pulled chicken was, we'd never finish it in one sitting.  So, what to do with leftover barbeque chicken?  The answer: barbeque chicken pizza!  Perfect!  It always seemed so stupid to cook chicken and toss it with bottled barbeque sauce just to stick it on a pizza - I felt like I was making dinner twice!  Thanks to Dinner, A Love Story and one very well-endowed chicken, my problem was solved!  Stay posted for my barbeque chicken pizza recipe later this week :)

BBQ Pulled Chicken
(Serves two with leftovers)

3/4 cup BBQ sauce of your choosing (I used Sweet Baby Rae's Honey Barbeque Sauce)
1/4 cup + 2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
1 bay leaf
1/4 of an onion, peeled (don't cut the ends off and it will stay in one piece)
2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1 chipotle pepper in adobo, whole 
1 pound chicken breasts (Or 2 VERY large chicken breasts.  Seriously, we're talking about the Dolly Parton of chickens here.)
Kosher salt and black pepper

Tangy Green Apple Slaw

2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP fresh lime juice
1 TBSP honey
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 cups shredded cabbage (I used a bagged mix.  Seriously, who wants to shred cabbage?)
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and coarsely grated with a box grater
2 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro

Buns of your choosing, lightly buttered and toasted

In a large sauce pan or dutch oven, whisk together the barbeque sauce, apple cider vinegar, and water.  Drop in the bay leaf, hunk of onion, smashed garlic cloves, and chipotle pepper.  Season the chicken breasts on both sides with kosher salt and pepper and add them to the dutch oven.  The liquid should just about cover them.  Heat the chicken over medium heat, until the liquid comes to a boil.  Reduce the heat slightly and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 15- 20 minutes.  

See?  I wasn't joking about using the Dolly Parton of chickens.

Remove the chicken from the liquid and set aside to cool slightly.  Meanwhile, increase the heat and bring the sauce to a boil.  Boil the sauce until it has reduced to the desired consistency, about 10-15 more minutes.  Meanwhile, use two forks (or your fingers!) to shred the chicken.  

Once the sauce has sufficiently reduced, use a slotted spoon to remove the bay leaf, onion, garlic, and chipotle.  Add the shredded chicken back into the sauce and toss until well coated.

While the chicken is doing its thing, combine the shredded cabbage, grated apple, and chopped cilantro in a medium bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, and honey, along with a pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper.  Toss the dressing with the cabbage and apples.  Cover the slaw and chill for at least 30 minutes.

To serve, pile the barbeque chicken on a toasted bun, top with a heap of slaw, and grab some napkins!

You think that looks good?  Wait till you see what I do with the leftovers!