I know the Super Bowl is over…..
but let’s be honest, sporting events are happening every day and there is always an excuse to get out the meat, beer, and BBQ sauce! This weekend, as you sip on a nice cold beer (if in fact you like beer) think about how delicious it would taste in your BBQ recipe!
Looks good….right?!
It was.
In fact, it was amazing. And the best part about this recipe was that is was as easy as 1, 2, 3. Literally; put the chicken in the slow-cooker, add four ingredients, turn it on, and wait (ok, was that four steps?).
So what made me think to add beer to my slow cooker chicken? I was perusing blogs one day and came across this recipe on Tiff’s blog. She used BEER in the slow-cooker, and I started to drool, seriously, all over the place. I love beer, and I love my slow-cooker. Ok, so maybe “beer in the slow-cooker” has been done before, but this was new to me (I mean, I am a newbie to the slow-cooker, and still learning….). She used 4-ounces of beer in her recipe, but I thought…why not more?! And so, here is what I came up with.
“Hoppy” Slow-Cooked BBQ Pulled Chicken
Serves 6
Ingredients
6 frozen chicken breasts (find in your grocers freezer, I used a favorite Organic brand)
6 ounces BBQ sauce (approximately)
1/4th cup maple syrup
2 Tbsp. liquid smoke
12 ounces of your favorite light beer
Directions
Add all ingredients together in the slow-cooker, and cook on low for 6-7 hours (or high for 3-4 hours). Turn off the slow-cooker and use two forks to shred the chicken in the slow cooker.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken without making a juicy mess.
Enjoy. You will.
Estimated Nutrition Facts for 1/6th of recipe (~3/4th cup)
Nutrition Highlights: Ok, there aren’t many nutrition highlights, but if you compare this to any restaurant’s pulled/shredded chicken I’d bet my life it’s lower in calories, fat, and sodium (especially sodium!). If you want this to be a more “complete” meat, serve it with whole grain bread for some fiber, or on top of brown rice. Add some veggies too, to create a balanced plate.
CREATE YOUR PLATE! Chicken for protein, broccoli (our household’s veggie of choice) for vegetable, extra veggies for the “Fruit”(because there is less sugar and typically more fiber in vegetables anyway), brown rice or whole grain bread for the grain, and a glass of milk or a slice of cheese for the dairy (or you can have some soy or almond milk, because let’s be honest, you don’t need dairy)
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