Spicy Sweet Chipotle Barbecue Chicken

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I have a confession to make.  I usually don’t read recipes.  Especially when I make the menu for the week.  I see the title and think, “Hm…that sounds easy to make!”  Then I skim the ingredients and see what I need to purchase and off I go creating what I think the picture should taste like.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  When baking is involved I *ALWAYS* read the recipe and the directions…as I’m baking it.  LOL

That is how this recipe came to be.  I was looking for something to do with the chicken legs I had in the freezer.  I accidentally bought legs instead of thighs once.  I DO NOT like legs.  I can’t stand having to pull those pieces of cartilage out of my mouth when I’m eating.  I’m the same way with fish bones, which is why I don’t like most types of fish.  I usually only order it out, or purchase cuts of fish where I KNOW there are no bones.  I loved to fish, but couldn’t stand to eat what we caught due to all those tiny little bones!  Um……shinies again.

So, chicken legs.  I wanted  a recipe that slowly braised the chicken legs for a long time so I really couldn’t taste those bits and pieces.  This idea was perfect.  Initially, the recipe was Honey-Chipotle Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches. Oh yeah!  Now I remember!  I wanted a barbecue chicken sandwich recipe.  LOL  My brain…I tell ya.  It’s a big ole giant SIEVE!  And every time I think of that, I think of Thomas Dolby.  Uh oh…SHINIES!  LOL

So I didn’t even read the ingredients on this one.  I got up that morning and threw some stuff into a mixing bowl and created this delicious sauce!  It was ketchup, green chili enchilada sauce, steak sauce, liquid smoke, chipotle chilis, adobo sauce from the chilis, brown sugar, honey, cider vinegar, and I think that’s about it.  I might have forgotten something as I was rushed that morning when putting this together.  It’s bad enough that we get up before the crack of dawn, but to be rushed on top of that?  My giant brain sieve is bound to forget something.  It’s inevitable…

So I threw the chicken in the slow cooker and put the sauce over top:

Then I set the slow cooker to low and went to work.  When we came home…OMG the aroma was FAN-TASTIC!  I think the dog was even drooling!  LOL  I took the legs out of the cooker and shredded them with a fork.  HOWEVER, there were nubs of the bone that had fallen off and were in the sauce.  I missed them the first time around, but rest assured, they were in my sammy…so I had to pull them out…and well it wasn’t pretty.  But the chicken sure was!

It was the perfect combination of sweet, and spicy with a little kick from the vinegar.  I always serve my sammies with Easy Fries from Ore Ida.  I remember when I was in college, they had them in the vending machines and were a YUMMY treat after spending hours in the darkroom printing pictures.  I remember when I was IN college seeing something about them being a relatively healthy snack solution from those vending machines.  As they were microwaved and not cooked in oil.  So, I continue to buy them.  They are mighty tasty with these sammies.

Spice Sweet Chipotle Barbecue Chicken

 

Ingredients

• 2 c ketchup
• 1 c green chili enchilada sauce
• 1 t liquid smoke
• 1 T steak sauce (like A-1)
• 2 whole chipotle chills in adobo
• 2 T adobo sauce
• 1 T cider vinegar
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1/4 c honey
• 2 pounds chicken of choice (preferably boneless and skinless)

Cooking Directions

1. Combine first 9 ingredients (ketchup through honey) in a small mixing bowl with a whisk.
2. Coat slow cooker with cooking spray. Place chicken in bottom of cooker and pour sauce on top; spreading to make sure all pieces of chicken are coated. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or high for 5 to 7 hours.
3. Serve on top of sandwich buns.