Slow Cooked BBQ Chicken with Avocado Apple Slaw

This is a standby entertaining meal for me, the ease of which I’ll describe below, but the real star of the show here is the slaw, the leftovers of which I ate for breakfast. No kissing people for a while, due to the raw garlic, but when the food tastes this good it’s worth it.

For the entertaining version – Obviously, as is usually the case with a slow cooker, the house smells ridiculous all day as the chicken cooks away – great for guests to walk into. You can prepare the coleslaw ahead (just add the avocado just before serving). Slice your red onion and store it in a bowl of ice water to take away some of the bite. This is as easy as it can get. Serve with (bought) sweet potato fries and a tossed salad and you can feel as relaxed as you’re acting when your friends walk in the door.

Equally good for a family dinner, though unless you’ve produced a vast progeny you’ll need to cut this recipe in half – very easy to do (although shredded BBQ chicken freezes well). Why chicken thighs instead of breasts? Half the price and more tender than breast meat. Feel free to sub breasts if you choose, though I would cook them for much less time lest they turn to mush. There are some pretty good options out there for purchased BBQ sauce. I used Rib Rack brand – no HFCS and a pretty short list of ingredients. Lastly, if you wanted to make the slaw as a “bed” for the meat and skip the bread all together (or if you just want to make the slaw as a side dish) I believe it will serve about 4 adults.

BBQ Chicken Sliders with Avocado Coleslaw

Serves 8

Chicken

4 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed

2 tbsp. spicy brown mustard

2-3 c. prepared BBQ sauce, divided

1 c. chicken broth

Coleslaw

1 bag coleslaw mix

1 Granny Smith apple, cored and cut into matchsticks

Juice of 1 lime

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

2 tbsp. honey

flesh of 2 ripe avocados, diced

To serve

2 bags potato dinner or slider rolls

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced into rounds

1. Whisk mustard, 1 c. BBQ sauce and chicken broth in crock pot. Add chicken and cook on low, 8 hours, stirring occasionally.

2. Remove chicken and drain liquid. Shred chicken with two forks and return to crock pot. Add remaining BBQ sauce to taste and set crock pot on “keep warm”.

3. To make slaw, combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix until combined. Add more salt to taste. Slaw can be made hours ahead and stored in the fridge but add the avocado last to prevent discoloration. Check for salt again after adding the avocado. 

4. Divide shredded meat onto rolls and top meat with slaw and red onion.