Maple Chipotle Pulled Chicken

I am posting the instructions for this recipe made in the oven but it would also be fantastic if you tossed the chicken in a crockpot for the day, pulled it apart, and then added the sauce. This recipe is also great for freezing or making ahead and reheating :D

Pulled Chicken

1 whole chicken, skinned
Spice rub (I use same combo of spices I use for my pulled pork found here)
1 bottle beer
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Heat your oven to 300F. Rub your skinned chicken liberally with spice rub and place the in a heavy bottomed pan with a tight fitting lid (a dutch oven is perfect.) Poor the beer and apple cider vinegar in the pot, place the lid on it, and bake for 2-3 hours, until the chicken is fall off the bone. When cooked, remove from liquid and carefully pull apart the chicken, discarding bones and any remaining skin. Be careful, some of the chicken bones are very tiny! Now make the BBQ sauce...

Maple Chipotle Barbeque Sauce

3 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves chopped garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups plain tomato sauce
1/2 cup maple syrup (I used Jim Beam pancake syrup I found at Sobeys)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1-2 canned chiplotles (I found 1 enough for us but this recipe would also be tasty with a little more heat.)
1 tsp fancy molasass
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ground dry thyme
1 tsp salt

In a small saucepan, slowly saute onions and garlic in olive oil until they soften and start to caramelize. Add remaining ingredients and simmer slowly for about 20-30 minutes or until reduced by about 1/4 the initial volume, stirring ofhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giften. When cool, puree in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Now all you have to combine the pulled chicken and the BBQ sauce, pop it back in the 300F oven to warm up a bit (about 30 mintutes or so) and serve!

This tastes great served on buns with Coleslaw and Bourbon Baked Beans.

Pulled Pork Pasta

This is a great use for leftover pulled pork... you know... if you have any ;)

1 lb pasta (we used farfalle)
1 tbsp butter
1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
S&P
2 cups pulled pork
3 cups tomato sauce
1/4 cup BBQ sauce (more if you like, do this to taste)
Grated Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in a large frying pan. Add sliced onions, salt & pepper. Cook on low heat until soft and caramelized.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and toss in pasta. Cook until al dente.

Add pulled pork, tomato sauce, and BBQ sauce to the caramelized onions. Bring to a simmer stirring well. Toss with cooked pasta and top with grated Parmesan cheese.