Home on the Range With Wild Buffalo Chicken

When it comes to chicken, I'm picky.  My chicken has to be colorful.  Period.  No ifs, ands, or buts, it has to have color.  In the cooked sense, that is.  It all started when I worked as a line girl in a restaurant.  Seeing the colorless fowl corpses coming out of the kitchen when there was a perfectly good grill nearby capable of making cross-hatch tattoos on the bird made my stomach quiver. 

I've indulged you in that tidbit to say this:  My husband really enjoys a good buffalo wing.  He especially likes the ones at a certain establishment where women hardly wear clothes and the owls sprawled across their shirts look just as shocked as I do when I walk in.  There's also the chain restaurant that is a sports bar of sorts where you can get the bone-in, or extra fried with lots of sodium nugget "spun" in your favorite buffalo sauce.  In either case, I'm not wild about either.  Oh sure, I enjoy my share of hot, vinegar-laden wings.  But, I'd rather make them at home.  Even venture out, shake things up a bit.  Hence, the reason for this dish!  It's the pulled buffalo chicken sandwich.  And, it's hatched in a slow cooker; even better.

Here's how this is going to go down in your kitchen.  See this stuff, gather it. 

 

 

I used four boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  Half of the onion you see above and 3/4 of a packet of the ranch mix.  The two bottles will make an appearance below.  I'd love to tell you that this is an exact science.  Actually, nothing that I do is scientific.  I don't bake very often because I feel that's a little too scientific.  Anyhoot....

 

Place the chicken breasts in a single layer in your slow cooker.  Sprinkle 3/4 of a ranch seasoning packet over the top of the breasts. 

 

 

 

 

Next, pour enough buffalo wing sauce of your choice over the breasts.  The sauce should cover the breasts, but not completely submerge them.  This equated to about half of a bottle.  

 

 

Using the whipped version of the sauce, add two rounded spoonfuls.  Cover the pot, set on low, and cook for approximately four hours.  The trick here is to cook it until just fork tender.  If you forget about it, like I've done, you end up with mushy chicken (which is not some sort of new cool ethnic dish.)  It is a real life, full on, cooking flub that you don't want to make.  Your chicken should flake like so....

 

 

Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and place it in a large bowl.  Using two forks, pull the chicken much like you would when making pulled pork.  (Great, now I'm craving BBQ!)  



 









 

 

Pour wing sauce from the bottle over the shredded chicken to your desired taste.  Add a spoonful of the whipped variety, and a sprinkle of the ranch mix to taste, mix well. 



Voila!  Shredded Buffalo Chicken at home, no crowds, no big screen TVs inundating you with Sports Center chatter, no half-dressed women reminding you that you should be bellying up to the squat machine at the gym rather than the table.  Plus, you can make enough of this dish to bring to work and enjoy with your friends.  Go wild with the theme!  Dress up as your favorite cowboy/cowgirl, decorate the space with tumbleweeds and bring in real live horses, or NOT.  Totally your call.  In either case, this stuff is delish.  Coleslaw makes a great side along with the traditional celery and carrot sticks.  And who could forget a nice, tall, ice cold root beer!  Enjoy Partner!

 

 



 

*Confession, I totally forgot to add the onion.  You'd clearly make that happen after pouring in the sauce.

 

Recipe:

 

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 packet ranch dressing mix

1 bottle hot wing sauce of your choice

1 jar whipped wing sauce

1/2 medium to large onion, sliced in half, then slivered

Carrots, celery, ranch or blue cheese to garnish,

Fresh Kaiser roll or other bun of your choice

 

Wash chicken thoroughly.  Add to crock in a single layer.  Sprinkle 3/4 of ranch seasoning over chicken.  Cover with wing sauce and two spoonfuls of whipped sauce.  Add onion.  Cover and cook on low for approximately four hours.  Chicken should flake when done.  Remove from crock.  In a large bowl, shred chicken using forks or hands.  Add sauce and whipped sauce along with a dash or so of ranch seasoning to taste.  Mix well.  Serve on a bun with condiments.

 

This recipe fed six adults with large helpings for each sandwich. 



 

Chicken Chili Recipe

So there are those recipes that are generic, very blande, and very simple.  Then, there are those that can be altered into something FABULOUS!  I got this recipe from Melanie a few years ago.  I believe it was originally a Rachael Ray dish that she suped up.  Here's my variation. 

Chicken Chili Recipe

1 small onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 T minced garlic

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

1 package 2 Alarm Chili Kit

1 envelope chili seasoning (reduced sodium)

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 can Chili Ready Tomatoes

½ can chipotle peppers with sauce (mince peppers)

Chicken stock

1 can Bush’s black beans, drained and rinsed

1 small bag frozen corn



Begin by seasoning chicken with Tony Chachere’s or your choice of all-purpose seasoning. In a large, heavy bottom pot, saute’ vegetables, add chicken. Brown until veggies are soft and chicken is cooked through.



Reduce heat to medium and add 2 Al arm Chili kit withhold the salt packet. Add chili seasoning envelope. Stir to incorporate. Add chipotle peppers and sauce and stir. Stir in cans of tomatoes, reduce heat to simmer. Allow mixture to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often. At this point, you may choose to add chicken stock to thin mixture if you find it too thick.

Add frozen corn and black beans. Simmer until corn is thawed and warmed. Serve with tortilla chips, cheese, and sour cream.

I believe I added chipotle peppers to the original recipe and corn.  I can't remember.  All I know is that it is some good eatin' on a crip Fall night!