Pressure Cooker Pulled Barbecue Chicken
Excellent healthier alternative to Sloppy Joe type sandwiches and it's incredibly easy to make.
Excellent healthier alternative to Sloppy Joe type sandwiches and it's incredibly easy to make.
- 3 or 4 whole, frozen chicken breasts boneless and skinless
- 1 cup barbeque sauce (more or less to taste)
- 1 whole onion peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon chicken wing sauce (or other type of hot sauce) (more or less to taste)
- 1/2 cup maple syrup (i use fat free or light) (more or less to taste)
- 1 clove garlic (may substitute garlic powder) peeled and chopped
- Carbohydrate 34.1281166666666 g
- Cholesterol 68.44 mg
- Fat 1.64936666666667 g
- Fiber 0.416333347161611 g
- Protein 27.3788333333333 g
- Saturated Fat 0.403355 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (198g)
- Sodium 211.656666666667 mg
- Sugar 33.711783319505 g
- Trans Fat 0.411888333333333 g
- Calories 268 calories
Step-by-step
- Place chicken breasts in pressure cooker.
- Add barbeque sauce, chicken wing sauce and maple syrup.
- Add onion and fresh garlic or garlic powder.
- Set pressure cooker to high and cook for 15 minutes based on chicken breasts of 1/2 inch or less (add 10 minutes for thicker breasts).
- When the cooking is done, remove the chicken carefully from the pressure cooker and cut it into small pieces, shredding it as much as possible.
- Serve on soft bread and top with left over sauce.
- Refrigerate or freeze uneaten barbeque.
From Slow-Cooked Pork to Fast Poultry
Pulled meat traditions grew from Southern barbecue pits where tough cuts required hours of low heat to break down connective tissue. This pressure cooker iteration adapts that technique for lean white meat by sealing moisture inside a closed vessel. High steam pressure forces liquids into dense muscle fibers quickly without drying them out.Controlling Cook Times for Density
Frozen meat goes straight into the pot safely because modern cookers reach internal temperatures above 212 degrees Fahrenheit rapidly, bypassing the danger zone. Thicker breasts need an extra 10 minutes beyond the standard 15-minute baseline to ensure the center reaches a safe 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Shredding works best when the hot meat is pulled apart with two forks while still moist from the cooking liquid.Balancing Sweetness and Heat
Maple syrup and barbecue sauce create a high-sugar cooking environment that burns easily if pressure drops incorrectly, so ensure the sealing ring is properly seated. Hot sauce cuts through that sweetness with targeted capsaicin acidity. Serve the finished poultry on soft sandwich rolls alongside crisp coleslaw to balance the rich sauce with raw vegetable crunch.
