This pulled hen recipe makes the juiciest shredded hen within the sluggish cooker. It’s cooked with a zesty mix of salsa and Mexican-inspired seasonings, good for serving in buns or tacos. And the most effective half is, it cooks itself!
Use this saucy salsa hen to make pulled hen sandwiches, or load it into tortillas for tacos, enchiladas, and extra. I even have a simple sluggish cooker pulled pork recipe you can strive subsequent!
The crock pot must be the easiest way to make pulled hen. Cooking over low and sluggish warmth for hours makes the hen exceptionally juicy, whereas the crock locks in all that moisture and taste. This pulled hen recipe turned out so scrumptious, crammed with Mexican-inspired taste because of salsa and some straightforward spices. I couldn’t wait to serve it between buns for pulled hen sandwiches the opposite night time, however for the reason that potentialities are infinite, I’m considering tacos are subsequent!
What Makes This Pulled Hen Recipe So Nice
- Fingers-free. Since this recipe makes use of the sluggish cooker, there’s little or no hands-on prep. Assemble all the pieces contained in the crock pot or cooker, hit begin, and are available again hours later to fall-apart tender, juicy hen that’s able to shred.
- Versatile. Use this zesty salsa hen in sandwiches, tacos, nachos, fajita bowls, and extra. You may make a giant batch and freeze it, too, so you will have it readily available for last-minute meals.
- Adaptable. This recipe is straightforward to customise relying on what you want. Amp up the taco taste, make it spicy, or strive a distinct taste profile altogether. I embody some straightforward variation concepts additional within the publish.
Elements You’ll Want
Beneath are the substances I take advantage of to make this zesty sluggish cooker pulled hen. All of them are straightforward to seek out and would possibly already be within the pantry. Scroll to the recipe card on the backside of the publish for the printable substances record, quantities, and a photograph step-by-step afterward.
- Hen – I like to recommend boneless, skinless hen breasts or hen thighs for this recipe as they’re best to shred.
- Salsa – Select your favourite model from the shop, or you should use home made salsa.
- Brown Sugar – You can too use granulated sugar or one other sweetener, like honey, agave syrup, or maple syrup.
- Spices – I take advantage of a mix of paprika (candy or smoked), onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder, plus salt and pepper to style. You possibly can substitute the person spices or amp up the flavour with taco seasoning or fajita seasoning.
Ideas and Variations
- Verify that the hen is cooked. Hen is completed when the inner temperature reaches 165ºF on the thickest a part of the breast or thigh. An instant-read meat thermometer makes it tremendous straightforward to verify hen for doneness.
- Make it spicy. Use scorching salsa or sprinkle in cayenne pepper or crushed chili flakes for further kick. You might additionally add a bit of enchilada sauce to offer the recipe extra warmth.
- Inexperienced salsa. Make this pulled hen extra much like my salsa verde hen by utilizing inexperienced tomatillo salsa as an alternative of pink salsa.
- Make BBQ hen. Exchange the salsa with barbecue sauce, and the Tex-Mex seasoning with hen seasoning for a variation of BBQ pulled hen as an alternative.
Methods to Serve Sluggish Cooker Pulled Hen
I wish to serve the hen between fluffy buns for straightforward pulled hen sandwiches. It’s nice each time we entertain, since everybody can serve themselves straight from the crock pot. There are a variety of the way to take pleasure in this pulled hen recipe. These are a couple of extra of my favourite concepts:
- Tacos. Serve pulled hen tacos topped with bitter cream, avocado, shredded cheese (or cotija cheese), guacamole, slaw, and any of your favourite taco toppings.
- Bowls. I like including this hen to fajita bowls, rice bowls, and different meal bowls for a protein increase.
- Wraps. Roll this hen up in flatbread or tortillas for a simple hen wrap. It makes a scrumptious mild lunch.
- Tex-Mex. Use pulled hen to make hen nachos, or strive it as a filling in enchiladas, hen flautas, and extra.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Retailer pulled hen in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 4 days. I’ll typically serve leftover pulled hen chilly in hen salad sandwiches or stir leftovers into hen taco soup.
- Freeze. The hen freezes splendidly for as much as 3 months. Retailer it in an hermetic container or freezer bag and thaw it within the fridge earlier than reheating or serving.
- Reheat. Heat the hen within the microwave or on the stovetop earlier than serving.
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Assemble. In a sluggish cooker, add salsa, brown sugar, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin powder, chili powder, and salt and pepper to style. Add the hen.
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Cook dinner. Cowl and cook dinner the hen on a HIGH setting for 3 hours or on LOW for 4-5 hours.
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Shred the hen. Take away the hen from the sluggish cooker. Shred the hen utilizing two forks, and add ¼ cup of the cooking/salsa sauce to the shredded hen. Serve in buns or tacos.
- You possibly can substitute hen breast with boneless and skinless hen thighs.
- For extra taste, you should use some further Taco seasoning.
Energy: 234kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 32g | Fats: 4g | Saturated Fats: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 1g | Monounsaturated Fats: 1g | Trans Fats: 0.02g | Ldl cholesterol: 91mg | Sodium: 925mg | Potassium: 914mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1611IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 2mg
Dietary information is an estimate and supplied as courtesy. Values could differ in line with the substances and instruments used. Please use your most well-liked dietary calculator for extra detailed information.
How one can Make Sluggish Cooker Pulled Hen
This recipe follows an analogous methodology to my sluggish cooker hen breast. The distinction right here is that when all’s stated and achieved, we’ll shred the hen and blend it again into the juices.
- Mix the substances. Add your salsa, brown sugar, seasonings to the crock pot or sluggish cooker. Then, nestle the hen breasts inside and stir to coat.
- Cook dinner. Set the hen to cook dinner on Excessive for 3 hours, or Low for 4-6 hours.
- Shred the hen. When the hen is cooked by means of, take away it from the sluggish cooker and use two forks to shred it. Afterward, stir about ¼ cup of the leftover cooking sauce into the shredded hen. It’s able to serve! See beneath for recommendations.
Extra Crock Pot Hen Recipes
