I knew exactly what I was going to do with this slow cooker Italian BBQ chicken as soon as I saw the recipe. Po Boys. I knew that the tender chicken, cooked in BBQ sauce and Italian dressing, would be perfect on French bread and I was right. The chicken has just a hint of sweetness, a bit of a tanginess, and a bit of heat. Perfect for a sandwich of any kind. I loved the contrast of the melt-in-your-mouth chicken and the crunch of onion and iceberg lettuce. Yum!
I didn’t mess around making a sandwich. I loaded up on the chicken. Thick onion slices (soaked in water for 30 minutes to cut a little bit of that onion heat). Ripe tomato. Plenty of shredded lettuce. Heck yeah, it was messy. And messy is good.
Open To Changes
You can really change up the taste of this slow cooker Italian BBQ chicken by using a more herby or zesty dressing or by adding different BBQ sauces. Smoky, hot, mesquite, etc BBQ sauces would all really make for different tastes. That way you can make this chicken again and again without getting bored with it.
I knew exactly what I was going to do with this slow cooker Italian BBQ chicken as soon as I saw the recipe. Po Boys. I knew that the tender chicken, cooked in BBQ sauce and Italian dressing, would be perfect on French bread.
Slice it thick, and serve it with gravy and mashed potatoes. Slice it thin and pile it high for a delicious sandwich. Chop it into small chunks for a crazy good chicken salad. No matter how you serve it, this simple roast chicken using the Char-Broil Big Easy is spot-on fantastic. As with anything cooked on the oil-less fryer, you can’t get any easier. Just season and cook. The skin comes out crispy. The meat, dark and white, is juicy and flavorful. Each and every bite is perfect. This is why I love my Big Easy.
A No-Worry Cookout
I go with 20 minutes/pound as my base cooking time. Simple roast chicken using the Char-Broil Big Easy usually doesn’t take any longer than that, but it can depending on the wind and temperature. I check it after 20 minutes/pound and go from there. A little over-cooked is ok, but under-cooked isn’t, so err on the side of caution if you aren’t sure it’s done!
Better with Butter
You can baste the bird with a little melted butter right before removing it from the cooker. It adds a bit of color and helps crisp up the skin a bit. While it’s optional, I like it. But then, I’m a butter-aholic so there’s that…
You can also use a light oil on the skin if you prefer. You can also get ‘complicated’ and inject your chicken, or ‘dry marinade’ it by rubbing it with your favorite seasoning and letting it rest for an hour or two before cooking. Or you can do like I did for this cook and stick with ‘simple’.
Perusing Pinterest for food ideas can be a dangerous thing for me. I love it when I come across something whimsical. When I saw this idea for teriyaki chicken pineapple bowls I jumped on it. Sure, I could’ve made the chicken and served it with rice on a pretty white plate. Maybe drizzled it with a bit of soy sauce, and it would’ve been great. Instead, I served it in a hollowed out pineapple! Now you’re talking fru-fru fancy! The chicken is tender and so flavorful. This is a wonderful Asian-inspired dish that is a real winner.
A Taste Carnival
I added some of the pineapple pulp to the chicken as it cooked. You can also add some to the rice. Heck, you’ve got pineapple, why not use it? That’s part of what makes this Teriyaki chicken pineapple bowls so great.
Perusing Pinterest for food ideas can be a dangerous thing for me. I love it when I come across something whimsical, so when I saw this idea for teriyaki chicken pineapple bowls I jumped on it.
Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh of each half, leaving about a half-inch on the sides to make sure the pineapple boats are sturdy.
Discard the flesh or set it aside to eat later, and drain any juices.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat.
Add the chicken thighs and cook, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes.
Add soy sauce, brown sugar, and honey, and stir to combine.
Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick and the chicken is cooked through, 8 to 12 minutes.
Add the sesame seeds and stir to combine, then remove the pan from the heat.
Scoop a cup of rice into each of the pineapple boats, then divide the teriyaki chicken among the boats and serve.
On a bun. As a dip. In a wrap. On a cracker. It doesn’t matter how you serve this slow cooker creamy bacon chicken, you’re going to love it. Tender, moist chicken. Creamy cheese. Bacon. Ranch dressing flavors. Bacon. Oh, I said that already. I love bacon. There’s no reason that you couldn’t add a bit more bacon to the crockpot. Kinda slip an extra piece or two in for that extra bacon-y flavor.
Creamy Deliciousness
Slow cooker creamy bacon chicken is mighty darned good as it is. Now, you know me (or well, maybe you don’t) but I like a little kick to my food. I would not be afraid to use jalapeno cream cheese instead of the plain stuff. And I wouldn’t be afraid to add a few squirts of Sriracha or my favorite hot sauce, either. Heck, throw in some diced roasted jalapenos too. You can always make two versions. One nice and mellow and one nice and spicy.
Shredded vs Cubed
If you want your chicken to have a bit more texture than the shredded version in the recipe, just cut into small cubes instead. Same great taste with a little bit different bite.
This mushroom Asiago chicken dish was the perfect therapy for a Sunday evening. By therapy I mean it was fun to make. A great distraction before going back to work the next day. And it was oh so tasty good. The perfect way to cap off a week and start a new one. It isn’t complicated, but then it isn’t all out of a box or can either.
Deliciously Creamy
This mushroom Asiago chicken is crazy creamy good. Personally, I wouldn’t hesitate to add a pinch or two of red pepper flake to give it just a bit of a kick. That’s just me, I like a bit of spice in everything. The chicken has a nice buttery flavor and is oh so tender and juicy. I was worried it might dry out or get a bit touch after frying in the flour, but no, it sure didn’t!
I love the nuttiness of Asiago cheese, but there is a limit. There is a such thing as too much for me. So start slow when you add the cheese, tasting as you go, until it is just perfect.
I like to use my good ole trusty Dutch oven to make this chicken and pretty much darned near anything like it on my stovetop. It’s nice and big and sturdy. That extra weight helps it maintain and distribute heat perfectly. As an added bonus, it’s actually pretty easy to clean up too!
Note: This recipe was developed using the Char-Broil Big Easy Oil-Less Fryer. If you are cooking using the Char-Broil Smoker-Roaster Grill you should cook with the lid open and the temperature set to High. You might also need to adjust the cooking time.
Weber has a line of marinade mixes that you add juice to that are really, really good. They’re perfect for flavoring chicken like this lemon pepper marinated chicken on the Char-Broil Big Easy. I picked up a package of each and used them to marinate my favorite, split chicken breasts. The Lemon Pepper marinade is mixed with lemon juice to produce wonderfully seasoned chicken. A little garlicky, a little herby and a little lemony, it’s a nice light refreshing marinade. You’ll love this Lemon Pepper Marinated Chicken on the Char-Broil Big Easy!
Keep An Eye On It!
Since it cooks at a high temperature you do have to watch that your lemon pepper marinated chicken on the Char-Broil Big Easy doesn’t char. One way to help prevent that is to not use marinades containing substances that might burn, like sugar or honey. The other is to rinse the chicken before cooking. Now, you’re going to lose a bit of flavor doing that, but if like me you’re going to remove the skin before eating, it really doesn’t make that big of a difference. Lemon Pepper Marinated Chicken on the Char-Broil Big Easy is great either way!
This. Right. Here. Absolutely divine ‘fried’ chicken, hot off my charcoal grill. Yes, grill. Before I got a Vortex, I had no idea that not only could I make fried chicken on a grill, I could make it with almost no effort at all. No deep fryer, no mess.
This spicy buttermilk fried chicken using the Vortex is beyond tender and juicy. It has a wonderful spicy kick to it, but it’s not overwhelming. And the skin? Oh, crunchy and delicious. Perfection without the oil.
Perfect Not-Fried Fried Chicken
There’s absolutely nothing I would change about this recipe for spicy buttermilk fried chicken using the Vortex. I enjoyed every single bite immensely. I think it’s the perfect fried chicken, and considering that I made it on my Weber grill without deep frying it, I just could not possibly be happier with it.
To make sure the skin crisps up good and that the chicken pieces cook evenly, do not over-crowd them on your grill. Also, I do not flip my chicken as it cooks. I put it on, close the lid, and don’t mess with the chicken for 45 minutes. Just let it do its thing.
Well, there isn’t one. Fried chicken on the Vortex isn’t smoke and mirrors and magic and what-not. I mean it’s really really easy. You can prepare the chicken any way you want. Any traditional (or non-traditional) fried chicken recipe will work just fine. And it really just as easy as battering up the chicken and putting it on the crazy-hot grill. Then you go away for 45 minutes, though the time might vary depending on how large your chicken cuts are, wind, temperatures, solar activity, etc. You come back to perfectly cooked chicken that you’ll swear was deep-fried in oil.
Combine the buttermilk marinade ingredients (except for the chicken) in a large resealable container.
Add the chicken and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
Combine all of the seasoning mix ingredients. Divide into two equally-sized batches.
Fire up your charcoal grill with the Vortex in the center. Make sure the lid and bottom air vents are open.
Whisk together the coating ingredients and place into a large resealable bag.
Whisk together the egg wash ingredients and place into a pie pan or large bowl.
Working in batches, remove the chicken from the marinade and shake off the excess.
Sprinkle with one half of the seasoning mix.
Transfer to the egg wash and coat well.
Shake off the excess and add to the baggie. Seal and shake to coat.
Arrange chicken around the edges of your grill (once the coals are hot and ashed over). Cover and cook for 45 minutes, rotating the lid every 15 minutes.
The last 5 minutes of cooking lightly brush the tops of the chicken with the oil to help crisp the skin even more.
Once chicken is done (165 F as measured in several places), remove and let cool slightly before serving.
Notes
To cook 10-12 pieces of chicken at once you’ll need at least a 22″ charcoal grill
My wife mentioned these Parmesan chicken bites the other day. I made them a long time ago and posted them on our old blog, Crossroads of America, and somehow had forgotten about them. That’s a shame because they’re really great. They aren’t nuggets like you might think. And they aren’t crunchy because they aren’t fried. They have a light coating, with a great herb-and-butter flavor. They are very addictive. Bite after bite, you’ll find yourself unable to stop eating them. The flavors are amazing. So make a double batch. You’ll be glad that you did.
Flavor-Packed Nuggets Of Happiness
I continued the herb theme and served these Parmesan chicken bites with a cool Ranch dressing for dipping. A Dijon dipping sauce also works great, as does blue cheese dressing. These little yummy morsels are a great alternative to deep-fried chicken nuggets. They are a bit more difficult to pick up with your fingers, so be prepared to serve them with small appetizer forks.
I highly recommend that you shred or grate your own cheese at home. Don’t buy the pre-shredded or pre-grated stuff. It has stuff added to it to keep it from sticking together. That ‘stuff’ affects how the cheese melts. Shred it yourself and use the good stuff.
These aren’t nuggets like you might think. And they aren’t crunchy because they aren’t fried. They have a light coating, with a great herb-and-butter flavor. They are very addicting.
I love cooking meals from scratch. But sometimes reality hits and I have to throw something together that doesn’t require a lot of preparation or ingredients. That’s where this quick fix copycat of McDonald’s chicken sandwich comes in. In less than 30 minutes I get to enjoy a rather tasty chicken sandwich. Heck it even has fresh toppings on it and a rather delicious(but incredibly simple) sauce. Hey, it’s not bad when you’re in a crunch, and I often find myself making little changes to mix things up a bit.
Make It Spicy
Add a little kick to your quick fix copycat McDonald’s chicken sandwich by substituting Tyson’s spicy chicken patties, adding a slice of pepper jack cheese, and adding Sriracha instead of onion powder when making the sauce. You can make these somewhat chicken wing-like by adding Buffalo wing sauce to the buns.
We are not making 5 star sandwiches here, but that’s no reason for them not being tasty. Nothing fancy, just good.
I almost always use Blue Plate mayonnaise in the dishes I make. I think it is the best around. If you can’t find it locally you can pick it up online for a fair price.
I love cooking meals from scratch. But sometimes reality hits and I have to throw something together that doesn’t require a lot of preparation. That’s where this quick fix copycat of McDonald’s chicken sandwich comes in. In less than 30 minutes I get to enjoy a rather tasty chicken sandwich.
This white garlic chicken pizza reminded me that I really need to eat more white sauce pizza. I usually opt for red, making my own sauce, but the creamy, garlicky, cheesy sauce on this pizza was fantastic. Black olives, shallot, moist and tender chicken and mozzarella topped it all off delicious bite-after-bite.
Chicken Greatness
I used chicken that I had roasted on my Char-Broil Big Easy when making this white garlic chicken pizza, but any cooked chicken will do. Grab a rotisserie chicken next time you’re at the store and shred or chop it. Perfect.
I highly recommend that you shred or grate your own cheese at home. Don’t buy the pre-shredded or pre-grated stuff. It has stuff added to it to keep it from sticking together. That ‘stuff’ affects how the cheese melts. Shred it yourself and use the good stuff.