The Definitive Slow-Cooker Shredded Buffalo Chicken Recipe, plus Homemade Ranch Dressing

My husband hates sauce. Yep, pretty much most sauces. He'd rather have dry meat than delicious gravy. Plain chicken than roasted barbecue wonderfulness. I don't know! Who doesn't like gravy?! He's weird! I can't explain it. And it makes me sad, particularly since I can make him any sauce his heart could desire, and it would probably be darn good. But alas, he is who he is. (He says it has something to do with texture, but still....wha?!?!)

There is one sauce, though, that he absolutely loves, and it's buffalo sauce. This is no gourmet sauce, obviously, but he loves it. So it gives me a thrill to make him something with it. (Oh, but he doesn't like chicken wings...that's another story. YES, I'm still married to him! Back to buffalo...) When we were in Iraq, they used to serve these highly processed shredded buffalo chicken sandwiches at the dining facility, and they were his absolute favorite thing served there. When you're in a situation like that, you've got to find comfort and peace in something---and as far as it came to food, these chicken sandwiches were it for him. I think all of you can probably relate to that these days, as you're in your kitchen whipping up family favorites while stuck at home isolated from COVID19.

His favorite buffalo sauce

Since my husband doesn't have a lot of food-related memories that bring him comfort (whereas I have about 3 million...), I always come back to Shredded Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches. He is a wonderfully supportive husband who provides useful feedback on every dish I make and enthusiastically eats whatever I cook (even if he doesn't like it, frankly), but not very much makes him go "I'm excited about dinner," other than these sandwiches. So of course, they were on the top of my list of things to make with the chicken breasts I had in the freezer.

Now, as you may already be thinking, there are literally COUNTLESS recipes for Shredded Buffalo Chicken on the internet. Why in the world would I bother publishing another one? I didn't plan to...I figured I'd just follow one of the countless examples out there and call it a day. But one after the other disappointed me...some were literally just buffalo sauce and chicken. Uh, no...at the very least I knew you needed to add some butter in there--that's a restaurant trick. They ALWAYS mix their buffalo sauce with butter. Don't leave it out! Some of them suggested adding in spices...I liked that idea, so I decided to incorporate it. But practically every single one suggested you cook the chicken for 7 or 8 hours on low in the slow cooker. This, obviously, is a problem........

PLEASE, I beg of you, NEVER TRUST a recipe that has you cooking chicken parts (especially breasts) in the slow cooker for anything longer than 3 or 4 hours on low. Even dark meat doesn't need that long to cook. Sometimes you only need 2 hours--this is why you should own a food thermometer and check the internal temp of chicken for doneness. (Only if you're cooking a whole chicken slowly would you EVER need nearly that much time.) And if a recipe suggests the high setting of a slow cooker for chicken, run away. This also applies for LEAN cuts of pork (like the chops, even on the bone).

Here's the skinny:

"Low and slow" is another word for Braising, which is typically what a slow-cooker is used for. Braising (which you'll learn if you follow the link to my other blog post), is typically used for cooking TOUGH (inexpensive), FATTY cuts of meat. Cooking the meat at a low temperature for a long time allows all the collagen and the fat to break down into gelatin, which gives braised meats their luscious, tender texture and makes them so irresistibly flavorful. What do chicken parts and lean cuts of pork NOT have???? Collagen and fat. For that reason, cooking them for a long time, even at a low temperature, just dries them out. If you cook chicken breasts for 8 hours, all you'll end up with is chalk. There. I've said my piece.

Frank's "Heat Index"

So here's my recipe for Slow-Cooker Buffalo Chicken. When I make this, I usually serve it on buns as sandwiches the first night. With the leftovers, I'll either make Buffalo Chicken Dip (which is just the chicken mixed with a whole mess of cheese served with tortilla chips....yummmmmm...yeah, my husband won't eat that because, cream cheese) OR (something he will eat) hearty salads with lots of vegetables--especially tomatoes, carrots, celery, and red onion--and cold or room temperature Buffalo Chicken, with ranch or bleu cheese dressing. You could also shred some carrot, mix it up with the leftover chicken, and use it as fried Egg Roll filling, dipping in ranch or bleu cheese. Heaven!

Hope you enjoy this recipe...I will say this one might be a bit spicy for the kiddos, depending on their comfort level. Sometimes serving it with ranch or bleu cheese dressing on the sandwich is sufficient to tone down the spice, along with a glass of milk. But if that's not their cup of tea, you can always just cook chicken breasts with barbecue sauce in the slow cooker and get the same result. But not longer than three hours! :)

Slow Cooker Buffalo Shredded Chicken Sandwiches

Yield: 6-8 sandwiches

Author: Alaina Missbach

Prep time: Cook time: Total time:

This is the definitive recipe for tender, spicy buffalo shredded chicken...perfect for sandwiches topped with bleu cheese or homemade ranch dressing (recipe included here!), and scroll to the bottom for ideas for leftovers!

Ingredients:

Ranch Dressing Seasoning Mix (makes a small jar; amounts needed for recipe indicated below)

• 5 Tbsp dried minced onions
• 7 tsp parsley flakes
• 4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Homemade Ranch Dressing

• 2 Tbsp ranch dressing seasoning mix
• 1 C mayonnaise
• 1 C buttermilk, sour cream, or plain yogurt

Buffalo Shredded Chicken

• 2 lb (900g) boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 3 Tbsp ranch dressing seasoning mix
• 1-12oz bottle buffalo wing sauce, such as Frank's Red Hot (recipe for homemade version found here), divided
• 1/4 C (2 oz/56g) butter
• 6 hamburger or hoagie rolls

Instructions:

How to cook Slow Cooker Buffalo Shredded Chicken Sandwiches

Ranch Dressing

1. Stir all Ranch Dressing Seasoning Mix ingredients together in bowl. Combine ingredients for salad dressing in a large jar and shake well or mix briefly with immersion blender. Refrigerate until ready to use; keeps for about a week.
2. Set aside 3 Tbsp Ranch Dressing Seasoning Mix for buffalo chicken, and store the remainder of the seasoning in an airtight container (such as a small jar) for another use.
3. Be sure to label your container with rations for making dressing or dip! For ranch dressing: 2 Tbsp seasoning + 1 C Mayonnaise + 1 C Buttermilk/Sour Cream/Plain Yogurt. For ranch dip: 2 Tbsp seasoning + 2 C Sour Cream/Greek Yogurt.

Buffalo Shredded Chicken

1. In slow cooker, layer raw chicken breasts and 3 Tbsp Ranch Dressing Seasoning Mix. Pour 3/4 of the jar (9oz) of buffalo sauce over chicken breasts, reserving 1/4 jar. (3oz)  Cut butter into four pieces and scatter over sauce.
2. Cook on low for about 3 hours, stirring once or twice, until chicken is cooked through (165F internally). It is not advisable to cook the chicken longer as it will just lose moisture and get chalky. As soon as chicken is fully cooked, remove it from sauce to a cutting board and allow to cool enough to handle. Shred chicken breasts and put back into sauce, allowing it to warm back up and absorb some sauce. (If cooking chicken in advance, allow sauce to cool at the same time breasts are cooling. Combine chicken and sauce and refrigerate until ready to serve, heating up gently on the stovetop.)
3. Before serving, add remaining 1/4 jar of sauce to chicken if desired, or just serve alongside sandwiches.  Pile buffalo chicken onto buns, topped with Ranch Dressing.
4. **This recipe can also be made completely on the stove top! Simply combine ingredients as indicated above over med-high heat in a large soup pot or dutch oven. Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for about 30-40 min, or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165F. Cool and shred chicken as indicated above, but give shredded chicken and sauce the chance to "meld" for at least 15 minutes over very low heat before serving.**

Notes:

Don't forget these creative ways of using your leftovers! - Creamy Buffalo Chicken Dip: Mix 1 1/2 C buffalo shredded chicken with 8 oz cream cheese (softened), 1/2 C ranch dressing, and 1 C shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese. Place in small baking dish and sprinkle with 1/2-1 C more shredded cheese. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes, or until all cheese is melted and top is starting to brown. - Loaded Buffalo Chicken Salads: Make a hearty salad with greens, shredded carrots, celery, cucumber, red onion, and tomatoes. Spoon Buffalo Shredded Chicken onto top middle of salad and dress with Ranch Dressing, garnishing with croutons and cheddar cheese if desired. - Buffalo Chicken Eggrolls: Shred one large carrot and mix with about 2 C cold Buffalo Shredded Chicken. Fill 8 eggroll or springroll wrappers with about 1/4 C mixture each and fry in canola oil at 350F for about 3 minutes each, turning to fry all sides. Drain and cool slightly on paper towels, then serve with Ranch Dressing for dipping.

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