Now I’ll be honest here, I’m not a big alcohol drinker, so I’m definitely not a frequent bourbon drinker. However, I always hear about how bourbon can be used in sauces or in recipes paired with maple, so I thought I’d give it a shot and make some pulled chicken with a maple bourbon sauce.
In our pantry, my dad has several different bottles of bourbon that he likes to enjoy from time-to-time, so when I was making this recipe, I had no idea which bottle to use. I knew that some of them were more expensive than others and some were aged longer (or aged by a different process), but I had no idea which was which. I didn’t want to use the highest-quality bourbon, so to play it safe, I called my dad at work and asked him which one I should use in the recipe. He was a bit surprised and asked what I was making, but I told him he would have to find out when he got home that night!
Needless to say, my dad was pretty excited to test out the recipe featuring his beloved bourbon, and his eyes lit up when he saw the pulled chicken sitting there.
However, everyone knows that you can’t just eat pulled chicken (or pulled pork) on its own – you have to have it on a sandwich to maximize the experience of eating. So of course, I served it with some dinner rolls. But not just any (aka store-bough) rolls.. they were my homemade rolls that is still my favorite bread recipe to date. (Check out that recipe here!)
When my dad took the first bite of the sandwich, he said (and I quote), “Wow! This is really good. I’m surprised by how much you can taste the bourbon”. My mom then took a bite of her chicken sandwich and also agreed that it was very good and had a strong bourbon flavor. However, that’s not a bad thing – they both agreed that the bourbon flavor, paired with the sweetness from maple syrup and molasses, was a winning combination.
Oh and did I mention that this recipe was a Crock-Pot recipe? Yep, that’s right. I just whisked up the sauce, threw it in the slow cooker with some frozen chicken, and then a few hours later, dinner was served. Don’t you just love when meals come together quickly and taste great? It’s like the best of both worlds! And even though this recipe made a pretty big batch, it didn’t take long to get through it. However, it can also be divided into containers and placed in the freezer until you’re ready to eat it – simply thaw it out, heat it up, and dinner is served!
- 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup ketchup
- ¼ cup bourbon
- 3 TBSP maple syrup
- 3 TBSP apple cider vinegar
- 1 TBSP molasses
- 1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. each: onion powder and garlic powder
- ½ tsp. black pepper
- ¼ - ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- Place the chicken in the bottom of a large slow cooker.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Mix very well.
- Pour the mixture over the chicken, cover with a lid, and cook for 4-6 hours on low.
- If sauce hasn’t thickened all the way, in a small bowl, combine 1 tsp. cornstarch with 1 TBSP water. Mix well, and then pour this mixture into the slow cooker and stir well.
- Cover with a lid and cook for an additional 20 minutes, or until mixture has thickened.
- When chicken is tender, turn off the heat and use two forks to shred the chicken.
