LET'S HAVE A CHICKEN PICKIN'!

Hi Y'all! It's been a coon's age since I've had myself an old fashioned Southern supper....so I've been fixin' all week to have a Chicken Pickin'! What in tarnation is goin' on over here??

OK, enough with the southern accent.. so what is a "Chicken Pickin'"?

Well, in the American South, a "pig pickin'" is a dinner which involves the barbecuing of a whole hog. Often the hog is basted with sauce while cooking. When the cooking is complete, the meat should ideally be tender to the point of falling off of the bone. The meat is then "pulled" into traditional Carolina-style pork barbecue, or may even be picked off the hog itself by the guests. (It is from the latter that this dinner gains its name.)


For those who have tried it, you know there is nothing more deeply satisfying than a steaming hot Pulled Pork sandwich! Today I am going to change things up a bit; I'll be using chicken and a crock pot for our "Chicken Pickin' "! So read on, if you want to make an easy dinner that's really tasty and a little different from the usual same-old, same-old. Plus, your kitchen is guaranteed to smell wonderfully delicious...

PULLED CHICKEN RECIPE
4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons yellow or brown mustard
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 large onion cut in half and thinly sliced
1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
hamburger buns or soft rolls

In the bottom of your slow cooker crock pot, whisk ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, mustard, chili powder, salt, pepper, and Tabasco together until well combined. Then mix in chicken and onions, stir until all chicken is coated. Cook on low 4 hours or high 2 hours. That's it.

Then just use a fork (or similar kitchen tool) to "pull" the chicken into barbecue strips as seen in photo. At this point you can toss it with the sauce in the crock pot if you like it juicy, or you can drain out some of the sauce, and then toss it, if you'd like it a little on the dryer side. Keep it warm in the crock pot until you are ready to eat.

Serve on a toasted bun with melted cheddar cheese. Mmm..the traditional side dishes are cole slaw, baked beans, and hush puppies with sweet tea or beer. We decided to enjoy ours with a deli pickle, our favorite potato chips and a cold brewsky while watching the football game! What's better than that?!

Well, butter my biscuits!! I reckon y'all will go HOG wild once you get a taste of this Chicken Pickin'!!  An' ya won't be bitin' off more than you can chew neither, 'cause the fixin' is as easy as water off a duck's back! So jes' gimme a holler, and let me know how yers turns out!