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BBQ Chicken Sliders
Slow cooker BBQ chicken sliders, brined overnight for tender, fall-apart meat that pulls apart with two forks.
Ingredients
- Brine: 1 1/2 quarts water
- Brine: 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- Brine: 2 tbsp salt
- Brine: 1 tbsp liquid smoke
- Brine: 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Brine: 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- Sandwiches: 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Sandwiches: 1/3 cup liquid smoke
- Sandwiches: 1 1/2 cups hickory smoke-flavored barbecue sauce
- Sandwiches: 16 slider buns or dinner rolls, split and warmed
- Sandwiches: Deli coleslaw, optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the brine ingredients, stirring to dissolve the brown sugar. Reserve 1 cup of the brine for cooking later, cover, and refrigerate.
- Place the chicken in the bowl with the remaining brine, turning to coat. Cover and refrigerate 18 to 24 hours, turning occasionally.
- Remove the chicken from the brine and transfer to a 3-quart slow cooker; discard the brine from the bowl. Add the reserved cup of brine and the 1/3 cup liquid smoke to the chicken. Cook covered on low 4 to 5 hours, until tender.
- Remove the chicken and let it cool slightly. Discard the cooking juices. Shred the chicken with two forks and return it to the slow cooker. Stir in the barbecue sauce and heat through. Serve on buns with coleslaw, if desired.