Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy
It was time to host the annual Lovejoy New Year's party and I needed to come up with a menu of hearty food to serve to our guests. If you have attended our New Year's karaoke and pinball extravaganza, you know that the party tends to last for 10 to 12 hours. Because of the longevity, we need food with staying power. Last year Natalie and I chose to serve Greek cuisine but this year we decided that Barbecue Pork Sliders and Barbecue Chicken Sliders would be the highlight of our hour d 'oeuvre-heavy menu. I took the sliders on as my project and was able to locate this fabulous recipe via google. The original recipe was for full-sized chicken sandwiches but after a few tweaks, I turned it into a slider recipe. I also opted to prepare a pork version and cole slaw as well as the original chicken version.
Barbecue Chicken Sliders-
Ingredients:
2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp molasses
1 Tbsp yellow mustard
1 Tbsp chile powder
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp Tabasco sauce
1 large onion, thinly sliced in half moons
3 to 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut in half or 1 rotisserie chicken
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
24 slider buns or rolls
In medium mixing bowl, whisk ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire, brown sugar, molasses, mustard, chile powder, salt, pepper and Tabasco together until well combined.
Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy
Pour into crock pot, add onions and chicken.
If using chicken breasts, cook on low for 4 hours or high for 2 hours. Remove chicken to large plate or cutting board and cool to the touch. Keep barbecue sauce warm in crock pot. When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred by pulling apart by hand. Return to crock pot and mix with sauce. If using rotisserie chicken, heat sauce in crock pot on low for one hour (the original recipe said to cook on low for 20 minutes but I found that the onions needed an hour to become tender). Add shredded chicken and heat through. Serve on buns with sharp cheddar.
If preparing pork sliders, use 3 to 4 thick pork cutlets in place of 3 to 4 chicken breasts and follow the above recipe for chicken sliders.
Reeni's Cole Slaw-
Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp vinegar
2 tsp honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp thyme
pinch or two of celery seed
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 cracks fresh black pepper
4-5 cups cole slaw mix or shredded cabbage/carrot mix
In large mixing bowl, whisk together everything with exception of cabbage. Start by mixing in four cups of cabbage and add more if needed. Refrigerate until serving. Serve as side or use as topping for sandwiches.
These sliders were absolutely delicious and they went over like gangbusters with our guests! I chose to prepare the chicken sliders with rotisserie chicken, which I highly recommend due to the ease of preparation. Although I don't eat chicken, Brad and several guests commented that they preferred chicken sliders to pork. I happened to love the pork sliders so the chicken sliders must have been amazing.
The best part of this recipe for sure was the sauce. I was quite impressed with the deep flavors created by a from-scratch sauce. The only change I would make is to use 1/2 tablespoon chile powder instead of 1 tablespoon and to add another tablespoon of Tabasco. This is just a personal preference and it would only make a minimal difference to the final outcome.
The cole slaw was also tasty. I loved the combination of Dijon, thyme and apple cider vinegar with mayonnaise. The cole slaw was the perfect mix of tangy, creamy and acidic. I liked it so much that this may end up being my go-to cole slaw recipe. Most of us chose to add the cole slaw to our sandwiches but I took a few bites of it on the side as well and felt that it worked both ways. The slider and cole slaw recipes were such a success that I may end up preparing it for our 2013 New Year's party. Well, maybe I had better focus on 2012 before I start thinking about next year. :) Happy New Year to all!
Recipe Source:
adapted from cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com
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