The Working Man's BBQ

In my four years spent in North Carolina during college, I never did understand the difference between Eastern and Western Carolina barbecue sauces. But ssshhh, don't tell anyone from North Carolina. They may actually rip your head off. 


Southerners, and in particular, North Carolinians, are passionate about their barbecue. Every family and restaurant probably has their own unique recipe for a sauce, which makes barbecue one of the great kitchen equalizers. You can never really screw it up if you stick with the basic ingredients. Then, you can add your own little flair to give it a unique twist.


I suppose this recipe is an East-meets-West BBQ sauce. I didn't use pork (sacrilege!) because I had a ton of chicken in my freezer. Really, you can use almost any protein you want with barbecue, which is the beauty of it all.


The Meal: BBQ Pulled Chicken with Sweet Potato Fries

I also associate BBQ with the low-and-slow method of cooking. The longer it cooks, the more the flavors in the sauce come together. But, since I have neither the means by which to smoke/grill/slow roast meat nor the time to nurse food for an entire day, the Crock Pot here works wonders. It does all the work for you, and the flavor is great.


The Ingredients: 2-3 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
                               1 large sweet onion, diced
                               2 carrots, diced
                               2 cups apple cider vinegar
                               1/2 cup water
                               1/2 cup light brown sugar
                               1 tbsp. vegetable oil
                               1/4 cup ketchup
                               3 tbsp. dijon mustard
                               2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
                               1 tbsp. salt
                               1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
                               2 cloves garlic, minced
                               4 tbsp. flour (optional)


I decided to add the flour here because I love the flavor of vinegar-based barbecue sauce, but I also like the consistency of the thick bottled sauces. I like the sauce to stick to the meat, so the flour thickens everything up.


Also, I chose to add the onion and carrots because I'm not a particular fan of cole slaw (again - sacrilege!). Although with vinegar-based BBQ you wouldn't use the type of slaw that swims in mayo (GROSS), I never really found the slaw necessary to the BBQ experience.


The Directions: Add diced vegetables and chicken (either frozen or thawed) to the Crock Pot.

Combine remaining ingredients in large mixing bowl and whisk together until combined.

Pour the BBQ sauce into the Crock Pot over the chicken and veggies. The sauce should just cover the top of the chicken. Add water as necessary to get this volume.

Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 5-6 hours. Remove chicken and shred using two forks. Return chicken to the pot and stir to smother the chicken in the sauce.

And barbecue can really be that easy. The flavor gets even better with leftovers for lunch the next day.


I almost always make sandwiches with wheat bread. However, I think it may actually be a crime to serve barbecue on anything but white or potato bread. I chose the latter.


The Fries: 3 large sweet potatoes
                   2 tbsp. olive oil
                   Salt and pepper, to taste


The Directions: Cut potatoes into long 1/4 thick strips. I leave the skin on.

Toss all ingredients into a large Ziploc bag. Shake until all fries are well-coated. I think this technique gets an even coat over all of the potatoes.

Spread potatoes in an even layer on a non-stick baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes, tossing potatoes once in the middle of cooking, until potatoes are browned and crispy on the outside.

I can and I did make my own version of food from the verdant southland up here in the land of the Yankees. So delicious.