Autumn Harvest Pulled Chicken Sandwich with Homemade Apple BBQ sauce

This apple BBQ sauce flavored pulled chicken sandwich topped with crazy delicious apple slaw and hazelnut yoghurt dressing is da deal!

Anyone else stuck with a whole bunch of apples in the basement and doesn’t know how to use them all?

I’m not much of a fresh apple eater, I’m simply too picky about how I like them. So stacks of sweet semi-rotten apples in the basement donated by our relatives are amost sadly waiting to be eaten.

And oh my god, what to do with all of them?!

Like I mentioned several times, I hate throwing food out, so I created a delicious autumn BBQ sauce made with fresh apples. Perfect recipe for using those not-so-good-looking apples.

And hint hint… you can make more and preserve it for later 😉 This recipe yields about 2 cups and is simple to mulitply!

I’m practically obessed with pulled pork burger, but it takes time. After seeng how awesomely Jessica from How Sweet It Is used chicken and made pulled chicken sandwich, I was inspired and made my own version with my apple BBQ sauce.

And it is delicious, I’m telling you! Soooooo simple and soooooo good 🙂 The sauce takes some time, but no effort at all.

This is like the longest named recipe I’ve probably ever made, it could actually be even longer. But I’ve made myself stop. There’s so much going on here.

The juicy shreded chicken, topped with homemade apple BBQ sauce, freshly cut slaw with apples, carrots and cabbage dressed with hazelnut yoghurt dressing. 

And guess what… the sandwich is topped with some more of the delicious BBQ sauce and chillies. Heaven!

Okay, I’ll stop torturing you. Go ahead and start cooking! 🙂

Print

AUTUMN HARVEST PULLED CHICKEN SANDWICH WITH HOMEMADE APPLE BBQ SAUCE

Course Main Course

Keyword beef burger, sandwich

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

PULLED CHICKEN

• 1 kg boneless chicken thighs
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

APPLE BBQ SAUCE

• 1 TBSP butter
• 1 small onion thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 4 middle-sized apples chopped into 1-2 cm chunks
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 TBSP honey
• 1 TBSP Worchestershire sauce
• 1 TBSP smoked paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

APPLE SLAW

• 1 big apple
• 1 big carrot
• 1/4 big cabbage head

SLAW DRESSING

• 150 g Greek-style yogurt about 3/4 cup
• 3 TBSP ground hazelnuts
• 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• pinch of black pepper

ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS

• 6 soft burger buns
• chopped parsley
• sliced chilies

Instructions

Apple BBQ Sauce

1. Place a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat and melt the butter. Add onions and wait for a few minutes to get golden, then add garlic and stir for about a minute. Then add apples, water, and apple cider vinegar, cover, and reduce to medium heat. Cook covered for about 10 minutes or until apples start getting softer.
2. Uncover and add the rest of the ingredients, mix well, and let gently simmer for about 30 minutes or until most of the apples have fallen apart.
3. Mix in a blender to get the silky smooth texture.

Pulled chicken

1. In a big bowl mix all spices together and add chicken thighs. Make sure to coat all the meat with the spice blend.

2. Place a large pan over high heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Cook chicken for 4-5 minutes on each side (cook time will depend on the thickness of the thighs). Make sure the chicken is cooked through before taking it off the pan.
3. Transfer it to a clean plate and shred it using forks.
4. Return the shredded chicken to the same pan you used before and add 1/2 cup of apple BBQ sauce (or more if it seems dry) and cook for a minute.

Apple Slaw

1. Cut the veggies into thin slices. Mix all ingredients for the dressing together.

2. Toss the veggies with the dressing.

Assembly

1. Cut burger buns into half and fill them with pulled chicken and apple slaw. Add more apple BBQ sauce on top and top with chopped parsley and chilly slices.

Notes

This recipe was inspired by Saucy Chicken Sandwiches by How Sweet It Is.