Barbecue Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

A couple of weeks ago I had the honor and privilege of winning a copy of Cristina Ferrare's Big Bowl of Love from a wonderful giveaway Annie was doing over on her blog. Not only was I ecstatic to have won a copy of such a highly-reviewed cookbook, but it's also the first thing I've ever won from a blog giveaway!

As soon as it arrived on my doorstep I immediately sat down with it and flipped through every recipe...

...and promptly bookmarked more than half of them to try. (If you've been following this blog long you'll know this is kind of a habit, tehe.) So expect to see many more big bowl of delicious love recipes in the coming weeks!

But back to the epic pulled chicken sandwiches!

Even though it took me longer than I'd really hoped to finally try something out of my shiny new cookbook, my first recipe was definitely worth the wait. These sandwiches were a huge hit! I think the use of thighs was ingenious for this recipe - white meat is often too dry for my taste, but the dark thigh meat stayed mouthwateringly moist. Plus, after a 2-hour slow roast in thick, smoky-sweet BBQ sauce, the meat literally fell off the bone. I could have eaten it without the bun! I followed the recipe as written this time around and used my oven, but you could easily use a slow-cooker to keep your house cool this summer if you wanted to. But no matter the method... I'll definitely be making these again!

Thanks again, Annie!


Barbecue Pulled Chicken Sandwiches
slightly adapted from Big Bowl of Love
yields 4-6 servings

Ingredients
8 chicken thighs
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups of your favorite BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's Hickory & Brown Sugar)
6 kaiser rolls or hamburger buns

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Remove skin and visible fat from chicken thighs. Dry well with paper towels.
2. To make the rub for the chicken, in a small bowl, combine the onion powder, garlic powder, brown sugar, and chili powder, and mix well.
3. Place the chicken in a roasting pan and drizzle the olive oil all over the thighs. Use your hands to evenly distribute the oil all over the chicken. Sprinkle on the rub and use your hands to spread the rub all over the chicken, ensuring even coating. Pour the BBQ sauce over the chicken and turn to coat both sides - but don't rub.
4. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove foil and baste every 15 minutes for 45 more minutes, until the meat literally falls off the bone. While baking, add water 1/4 cup at a time if the bottom of the roasting pan becomes too dry.
5. Transfer the chicken to a large platter and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Shred the meat with two forks while it is still hot. If desired, you may mix the chicken with any sauce left over in the pan.
6. Toast the kaiser rolls or hamburger buns. Divide the meat evenly on the 6 rolls, and serve!