Pulled BarbecueChicken Sandwich with Blue Cheese Coleslaw

Circle B Kitchen

Makes 6 sandwiches

2 lbs boneless chicken thighs
1 ½ cups of your favorite BBQ sauce (or see below)
Blue cheese coleslaw (recipe follows)
6 fresh sandwich rolls or burger buns

For the Sauce:
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup molasses
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons mustard
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Frank's hot sauce (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Place all ingredients in a sauce pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Season to taste for salt. This will make more than you need for the recipe, but will keep quite well in a sealed container in the fridge.

For the chicken:
Place 1/2 cup of the BBQ sauce in a large skillet. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper, add to the skillet and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken and cook another 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and let the chicken simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and use 2 forks to shred or “pull” the chicken. Or you can let the chicken cool enough to handle and use your fingers to shred. Add more sauce to the chicken until it’s moist and lightly sauced. Set aside and keep warm.

Blue Cheese Coleslaw (See below for a feta cheese variation)
1/3 cup light mayonnaise
1 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
¼ tsp celery seed
½ tsp black pepper
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese (preferably a mild variety)
¼ cup buttermilk
Salt to taste
2 cups shredded cabbage

Mix together the first 7 ingredients and combine with the shredded cabbage. Increase or decrease the amount of blue cheese and salt to your taste.

A yummy coleslaw variation:  Instead of blue cheese, I sometimes use feta cheese and then add 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard and 1 teaspoon sugar.

To assemble:
Lightly toast the buns or sandwich rolls. Place a nice pile of the shredded, saucy chicken on the bottom bun and top with a good amount of the slaw. Place the top bun over the slaw and eat promptly. :)