BBQ Pulled Chicken with Slaw and Pickles
Glossy, smoky strands of pulled chicken slick with sticky BBQ sauce, piled high on a board next to a cool yoghurt-Dijon slaw and a bright scatter of pickled red onion, warm brioche buns ready alongside.
Ingredients
Serves 4- 900 gchicken thigh fillets
- 100 mlchicken stock
- salt and black pepper
- 2 tbspsmoked paprika, divided
- 1 tspgarlic powder
- 1 tsponion powder
- 1 tbspvegetable oil
- 150 mlBBQ sauce
- 200 gwhite cabbage, finely shredded
- 2carrots, grated
- 1 tbspapple cider vinegar
- 1 tsphoney
- 3 tbspplain yoghurt
- 1 tspDijon mustard
- 1red onion, finely sliced
- 100 mlred wine vinegar
- 1 tspsugar
- ½ tspsalt
- 8brioche buns, warmed (optional)
Method
- Combine the sliced red onion, red wine vinegar, sugar and salt in a small jar or non-reactive container. Set aside to lightly pickle while the chicken cooks; it'll turn glossy pink and softly tangy by the time you're ready to serve.
- Dry the chicken thighs thoroughly with kitchen paper. Rub them all over with the smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, a generous pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper. Season properly now; you can't fix bland chicken at the end.
- Heat the oil in a wide, heavy-based stainless or cast-iron pan over medium-high until it shimmers. Lay the thighs in in two batches; don't crowd the pan, or they'll release water and stew instead of browning. Sear hard for 4 minutes a side until deeply coloured and the spices smell toasty. Lift the first batch out and brown the rest.
- Return all the chicken to the pan and pour in the chicken stock. Drop the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20–25 minutes until the chicken is fork-tender and pulls apart with no resistance.
- While that ticks away, make the slaw. Toss the cabbage and grated carrot with the yoghurt, the apple cider vinegar, Dijon and honey. Season with salt and set aside; the vinegar softens the cabbage and sharpens as it sits, so 10 minutes minimum.
- Lift the chicken onto a board and shred it roughly with two forks. Return it to the pan with the remaining BBQ sauce and toss over a medium heat for 3 minutes, until the sauce clings and goes glossy and sticky. Taste; the BBQ sauce carries sweetness and salt, but a final pinch ties it together.
- Pile the pulled chicken onto a board, top with slaw and scatter with pickled red onion. Serve with the warm brioche buns alongside.
Per serving
- kcal
- 449
- protein
- 47.6g
- fibre
- 4.9g
- carbs
- 31.6g
- fat
- 13.9g
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