This delicious summer sandwich smells of cookouts and savory backyard parties. Oddly enough, this is made in the crockpot! The key to taking this dish over the top, you MUST cook the chicken in the crockpot on low all day, shred it halfway through and cook on low some more with more BBQ sauce. I like to cook the chicken the day before and finish it off on the skillet the day of so that’s how I walkthrough it below. Of course if you want to eat it the day of, you can! Just start it early.

The slaw is a must. Its crunchy, tanginess pairs wonderfully with the bbq sauce. I buy the bag of slaw from the store (do not use the sauce if it’s provided in the bag). I give you a recipe for the slaw sauce below.

Ready to dive in and serve up the best BBQ sandwich? Let’s get cooking!

Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwich with Southern Slaw

Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 10 hours (9 hours of this time is the crockpot) | Total time: 10 hours and 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 large chicken breasts (or 8 chicken tenderloins)
• 1 large bottle Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce. You’ll use 1/2 of the bottle at the beginning, then 1 cup once it’s shredded and then the remaining BBQ sauce once it’s on the skillet
• 8 burger buns
• 1- 12 oz bag of rainbow salad NOT SAUCED
• 1 cup Miracle Whip
• 2 tbs dijon mustard
• 2-3 tbs of apple cider vinegar (I use 3 because I like a vinegar taste. Use 2 tbs if you don’t want it too vinegar-y)
• 3 tbs sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp celery salt

Recipe

• Grab a large crockpot and put the thawed chicken breasts (or tenderloins) in there in a single layer.
• Pour 1/2 of the bottle of BBQ sauce over the top of the chicken. Be sure to coat all of the chicken and not just one spot.
• Lid on and cook on low for 8 hours.
• After 8 hours, shred the chicken and pour 1 cup of BBQ sauce over the top. Give it a stir and then put the lid back on to took for another hour.
• After that hour, this is when I package it up and put it in the fridge for the next day. If you are serving it that day, just continue to the step of making the slaw.
• About 45 minutes before I want to serve the sandwiches, I begin making the slaw.
• Using a large bowl, dump the rainbow salad into it.
• Add the Miracle Whip, dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, onion powder and celery salt. Grab a fork and give it a really good stir. You’ll want to make sure you coat everything in the bowl.
• Put the bowl in the fridge while you get the sandwiches ready. I repeat- in the fridge!
• In a large skillet on medium heat, add 1/4 cup water.
• Add the bbq chicken to the skillet and heat it up. This is a great opportunity to get the ends a little crispy.
• While that’s getting crispy, butter the burger buns and heat them up on a skillet. Get them to be a nice light brown.
• To assemble, grab the bottom of the burger bun, add the bbq chicken, top with the slaw and then add the top of the burger bun.
• Enjoy!

XO, Rachel