Pulled BBQ Chicken

Learn how to make some succulent bbq pulled chicken. The chicken is lightly seasoned, pan seared and then smothered in my homemade guava bbq sauce before being left to slow cook until fork tender.

It's that time of year where it's hot and sunny and perfect for all things barbecue.

While I personally don't own a barbecue grill I've found many ways to not feel excluded from all of the summer time fun.

The other day I had a load of guava that I've since made a plethora of things with and posted them on my website.

Guava bbq sauce was one of them and I wanted to pair it with some gigantic chicken breasts that I had laying about in my freezer.

Needless to say that recipe was a hit with my family so I decided to share it with you all on here.

It's a very very simple recipe to make and one that you will need my homemade bbq sauce for.

You only need a total of 6 ingredients - chicken breast, homemade bbq sauce, all purpose seasoning, black pepper/pink salt and olive oil that's it.

This isn't one of those overly complicated recipes with a laundry list of ingredients, especially if you already have my homemade sauce to hand.

Ingredients you need

• Chicken breast - I like to use lean chicken breast, but boneless/skinless chicken thighs work as well.
• Homemade guava bbq sauce - You will need this to smother the chicken with this when the chicken is being slow cooked.
• All purpose seasoning - You will need my homemade all purpose seasoning blend for seasoning the chicken breast
• Olive oil - A small amount is needed for pan searing the chicken.
• Black pepper/pink salt - Optional, but used, if needed to enhance the taste of the pulled chicken.

Recipe preparation

This recipe is relatively straightforward, you will need to prepare the guava bbq sauce in advance or you won't be able to make the recipe.

I personally like to use chicken breast, 3-4 very large in size should suffice.

I like to pierce the chicken with a fork and tenderise the chicken with a mallet because I find the end result is more succulent and juicy.

I then season each chicken breast with on both sides with my homemade all purpose seasoning, you don't need to go overboard just a sprinkle per chicken breast.

I find that this step along with pan searing makes a difference to the tastiness of the shredded chicken.

You don't need to leave the chicken to infuse with the dry rub overnight, you can cook it immediately.

Pan searing helps to lock the flavour in, you're not cooking the chicken in its entirety, the slow cooker will do most of the cooking once it has been browned.

Then all you need to do is transfer it to a slow cooker, pour the homemade guava bqq sauce into the slow cooker and leave it to slow cook for up to 2 hours.

After the given time, I simply remove each chicken breast from the slow cooker and use 2 forks to shred the chicken, it's easier to do it away from the unit then inside of it.

Place the chicken back into the slow cooker for about 15-20 minutes and fold into the sauce so the flavour becomes more intense.

Once it is ready I do a taste test and add pink salt and black pepper, if it is needed and then voila! It's all done and ready to be eaten!

The steps

• Place the chicken breast of on raw meat chopping board (I line mine with saran wrap/cling film). 
• Use fork to lightly pierce holes on both sides of the chicken.
• Place some wrap over the top of the chicken breast and use a tenderiser mallet/hammer to repeatedly hit the chicken.

• Repeat the above 3 steps with the rest of the chicken breasts and set aside.
• Sprinkle some all purpose seasoning in a small plate.
• Place/press the chicken so it adheres to the bottom and sprinkle more on the seasoning on the top and flip the chicken over so everywhere is coated.
• Repeat the above 2 steps with the rest of the chicken.

• Add olive oil to a medium sized frying pan/skillet on medium heat.
• Carefully add each chicken breast and proceed to pan sear both sides to lock in the seasoning (you are simply browning the chicken NOT cooking it).
• Once done, remove the chicken from the pan and carefully place them in the slow cooker.
• Pour the bbq sauce over the chicken making sure each one is completely covered.
• Put the lid on and set the unit to slow cook for 2 hours on high.

• Half way through the cooking time, flip the chicken over and baste the chicken with the sauce, put the lid on and leave to continue cook.
• Once cooked, carefully remove the chicken from the sauce and into a medium sized dish.
• Use 2 forks to shred the chicken and then return the chicken to the cook slower and stir so the sauce and chicken are combined.
• Put the lid on an allow to cook for a further 15-20 minutes.
• Once done, to a taste test and add pink salt and black pepper, if needed.
• Serve accordingly.

Notes and tips

• You can use any type of chicken for this recipe but you ideally want chicken that is boneless and skinless.
• The chicken is already washed and blotted dry as per Caribbean Custom.
• I highly recommend using a slow cooker to cook the chicken breast but keep an eye on the time if you can't manually set it to 2 hours.
• Don't forget to do a taste test of the pulled chicken prior to serving it.
• You will need my home Guava Bbq Sauce to make this recipe.
• It is better to serve the pulled chicken immediately, if possible or simply re-heat it in the slow cooker (warm mode).
• Any leftovers should be stored in the refrigerator and eaten by the next day.

More chicken recipes to try

• Chicken Roti 
• Caribbean Chicken and Cabbage
• Ninja Air Fryer Whole Chicken
• Jamaican Curry Chicken Recipe
• Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken Recipe
• Mojo Chicken 
• Sorrel Chicken Wings
• Peanut Butter Chicken
• Tamarind Chicken
• Nutmeg Chicken

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