BBQ Chicken Sliders

Why This BBQ Chicken Sliders Works

During the long, low cooking time, the chicken slowly soaks up the barbecue sauce and softens all the way through. The steady heat breaks down the tough parts of the meat, so it starts to pull apart easily with a fork instead of staying in big, chewy pieces. Because the chicken sits in the sauce the whole time, it doesn’t dry out; the sauce keeps it moist and coats every shred once it is pulled apart and stirred back in.

While the chicken cooks, the coleslaw mix stays raw and crunchy. The mayonnaise, vinegar, and honey cling to the cabbage and carrots, so the slaw stays a little crisp and a little creamy at the same time. When the warm, saucy chicken goes onto the toasted slider buns and the cool slaw goes on top, the textures balance each other. Soft bun, tender chicken, and crunchy slaw all hold together in one bite instead of sliding apart.

Mistakes To Avoid

Letting the chicken cook on high heat or for much longer than 7 hours can make the meat stringy and dry, even though it is sitting in sauce. The fibers tighten up too much, and the sauce can start to taste thick and sticky instead of coating the meat smoothly. The sliders end up with chewy chicken that feels tough in the bun.

Pulling the chicken out of the slow cooker too early means it may look done on the outside but still be firm in the center. When it is shredded, it breaks into big, rubbery chunks instead of soft strands that soak up the sauce. The filling then feels heavy and doesn’t sit nicely on the bun.

Skipping the toasting on the slider buns often leads to soggy sandwiches. The soft bread soaks up the wet BBQ and coleslaw right away, so the bottom bun collapses and falls apart when picked up. A quick toast gives the bread a bit of strength so it can hold the juicy filling.