Alabama meets Tennessee with this sandwich: Pulled Chicken with Alabama White Barbecue Sauce. It’s time to get out the slow cooker and some liquid smoke.
As chicken in all its forms nudges past pork at restaurants all over Nashville, then pulled chicken might be the new barbecue. Better yet, you can make it easily at home. Smoky chicken pulls apart just as nicely as a pork shoulder, and in less time. Dark meat thighs offer the most barbecue flavor, but use whatever you like.
Indoor barbecue starts with the slow cooker. It is perfectly designed to deliver low, steady heat that will gently break down muscle fiber, transforming it into soft, tender, juicy meat. And unlike traditional barbecue, it doesn’t need your attention. Plug it in and go do something else. Your indoor barbecue is in good hands.
Next, your home kitchen smoking system requires all-natural liquid smoke, that little brown bottle next to marinades and barbecue sauces in the supermarket. While long misunderstood by barbecue purists, liquid smoke is a very cool and widely used ingredient. You’ll really be surprised by how good it smells in the kitchen. You might think you’ve never had it, but you have. Liquid smoke is all foods with “natural smoke flavor” on the label. Read more about liquid smoke here.
Use whatever liquid smoke brand you like. They’re all based on naturally condensed smoke particles made from smoldering wood with carcinogens and impurities removed. Yes, liquid smoke is healthier than your outdoor contraption.
Seasoning tip: packaged rubs are fine, but we keep it simple with Kosher salt, coarse ground black pepper, paprika, and sometime a little garlic powder. For a whole bird season the cavity with salt and pepper and the skin with salt, pepper, and paprika. About 2 tablespoons of each, but eyeball it and use your judgment.
For the sauce, we’re going with a Nashville take on the famed mayonnaise-based Northern Alabama white barbecue sauce. We’re employing the perfect accessory to pulled pork and Nashville hot chicken–the dill pickle chip (and some pickle juice). Its tangy edge balances the creaminess of the mayonnaise and distributes the pickle throughout the whole sandwich. Make the sauce as hot (or not) as you like.