BBQ Crock-Pot Chicken

Set-it-and-forget-it doesn’t have to mean a bottle of sauce dumped over chicken. Here the barbecue sauce comes together from scratch right in the pot: tomato passata for body, brown sugar and molasses for deep, sticky sweetness, and white wine vinegar to keep it tangy, plus a little basil and thyme for herby lift.

You simply settle a whole chicken into the crock, pour the sauce over the top, and walk away. Six to eight hours on low is all it takes for the meat to go meltingly tender and pull cleanly from the bone, soaking up the smoky-sweet sauce as it cooks.

Low and slow is the move here, not high heat. A gentle, long cook keeps the chicken moist and gives the sugars in the sauce time to deepen, while a fast, hot cook would leave you with dry, stringy meat.

Pro Tips

• Cook on low, not high; the long, gentle heat is what makes the chicken fall-apart tender.
• For a thicker sauce, lift the chicken out at the end and simmer the cooking liquid in a pan to reduce it.
• Shred the meat and toss it back through the sauce for sandwiches, or serve the chicken whole.

Variations

• Use bone-in thighs or breasts in place of a whole bird; adjust the time down slightly.
• Add a dash of smoked paprika, chipotle, or hot sauce for smoky heat.
• Stir in a spoonful of Dijon or Worcestershire to deepen the savory side of the sauce.