Crockpot Shredded Orange BBQ Chicken Sandwiches - plus a quick and easy version

(Sorry, I don't have any other photos - I quickly put this together one morning before work, and didn't get any others.)


I love orange chicken and am always looking for a version to make homemade. This recipe comes from the Six Sisters' Stuff blog. I made it the quick and easy way by using the meat from a rotisserie chicken and adding the sauce ingredients and warming it up in a skillet on the stove. I wouldn't necessarily call it orange chicken ... it's more of a sweet barbecue chicken, but the orange marmalade really enhances the flavor of the BBQ sauce. You can either serve it over rice, on a bun or eat it straight out of a bowl. I just made this the other day and am considering making it again, it is that good.

Here is the original recipe from the website

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4 or 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup orange marmalade
1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's original flavor)
3 tbsp soy sauce (don't skip out on this, as it adds a very nice flavor and cuts down the sweetness of the marmalade)

Place the chicken in a crock pot. In a separate bowl, mix together the orange marmalade, bbq sauce and soy sauce. Mix well, then pour over the chicken in the crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours. Shred the chicken when done and return to the sauce. Seve over hot, cooked rice. May add some red pepper flakes to taste to kick it up a notch.


A QUICK and EASY version

My quick and easy version is to cut the meat off of a rotisserie chicken (I used an original flavored chicken rather than a seasoned chicken that I purchased from Byerly's/Lunds). Cut the chicken up in small chunks and place in a large skillet. In a separate bowl, combine the sauce ingredients and pour over the chicken in the skillet. Bring to a boil and cover. Simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes. This can be served over cooked rice or on a sandwich bun.

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

My sister told me about this recipe and I made them yesterday. They are very good, and quite easy to make. It uses a seasoning packet and is made in the crock pot, so the meat turns out very tender. You could easily use your own homemade sauce, or a bottled one, but this is very good, too. It has a nice, smokey flavor to it.

Printable Recipe

3 pounds boneless pork shoulder, well trimmed of fat (I used a boneless pork loin roast)
1 pkg McCormick "Slow Cookers BBQ Pulled Pork Seasoning"
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

Place pork in crock pot. In a bowl or saucepan, mix together the seasoning packet, ketchup, brown sugar and vinegar and pour over the roast. Cover. Cook on LOW for 8 hours, or on HIGH for 4 hours. Remove pork from crock pot and using two forks, shred meat. Return meat to crock pot and continue cooking for about 5 - 10 minutes to heat the meat back up. The sauce is quite thin, so you may want to add a little bit of bottled bbq sauce if you desire a thicker sauce. However, if allowed to sit for several minutes, the meat will absorb much of the sauce. Serve on buns.

The roast I had was closer to 5 pounds, so I cut it down to 3 pounds. If your roast is larger, you will need to cook it longer than the specified time.

Oven BBQ Ribs with Honey-Roasted Potatoes

Printable Recipe

These are very good. They are pretty spicy, so cut down on the amounts of the seasonings if you don't like things hot. Let them sit in the refrigerator with the rub on for up to 2 hours or longer, and it will tenderize the meat. I used country-style pork ribs this time, because that is what was on sale this past week. I think I prefer the spareribs, but the country-style are still very good. I put the rub on the ribs and placed them inside a plastic zip-lock bag. I refrigerated them for a good 4 hours. The rub seems to tenderize the meat, especially when using spareribs. Certainly, these can be done on a grill.

Ribs
6 lbs pork spareribs

Rub
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tsp white pepper
2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp brown sugar

BBQ Sauce
I use "Famous Dave's Sweet & Zesty BBQ Sauce" and I thin it out by adding some water. You can use whatever you prefer.

Pull the transparent sheet off of the back of the ribs, using paper towels to grab a hold of it. Mix together the Rub ingredients and rub all over the ribs, front and back. Place inside a large plastic ziplock bag and refrigerate for 2 hours. Place ribs in a shallow roasting pan or large rimmed cookie sheet(s) and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, drain any accumulated grease and then baste with the bbq sauce. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees and return ribs to oven and bake for another 1 hour, 15 minutes basting occasionally with bbq sauce.


Honey-Roasted Potatoes

Printable Recipe

I got this recipe from Allrecipes.com They are a great side dish. When the potatoes are tender, I like to turn on the broiler for a few minutes, to lightly brown them, but it's not necessary.

1 lb new potatoes, scrubbed and quartered (Since some new potatoes can be rather large, I cut them into smallish chunks)
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp dry mustard
salt and pepper, to taste (I use Kosher salt)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a rimmed cookie sheet with PAM. Place potatoes in a single layer. Combine the butter, honey, dry mustard and salt and pepper. Drizzle over the potatoes and toss to coat. Bake for 35 - 45 minutes, until tender. Stir half-way through baking time.

BBQ Sauce

Printable Recipe

This recipe comes from a Cook's Country magazine. I haven't tried it yet, but it does look good, doesn't it?

2 tsp vegetable oil
1 onion, minced
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup root beer
1 cup apple-cider vinegar
1 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tbsp brown mustard
1 tbsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp garlic pwd
1/4 tsp liquid smoke (optional)

Heat oil in saucepan over medium-high heat until simmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in remaining ingredients, except for liquid smoke, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until mixture is thick and has reduced to 4 cups, about 1 hour. Stir in liquid smoke, if using. (Sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.)