Crockpot "Smoked" Chicken

As I said in my post from Thursday, I made some "smoked" chicken for my parents' visit this weekend. I have to say, it was a success. I started with four large boneless, skinless chicken breasts and a spice rub.

(This is where I rant about spice rubs.)

I think most rubs have way too much salt. I understand it is there to season the food and pull out some of the liquids during the smoking process, but I really don't think a great amount is necessary. I started with Paula Deen's house seasoning, which consists of 1 c. salt, 1/4 c. black pepper, and 1/4 garlic powder, and turned it into this:

Rachel's Peppery BBQ Rub

1/4 c. coarse black pepper
2 T. garlic powder
2 T. onion powder
3 T. paprika
2 T. salt

Put it all in a small covered bowl and shake it up.


I sprinkled around 2 T. of the rub over the four chicken breasts and rubbed it in. After that, put it in your crockpot along with 1/2 c. water. Then you use the magic ingredient: Liquid Smoke. Yeah, sounds gross, but it gives everything a great flavor. Pour around 1 T. total over the chicken.

Cook it in the crockpot on High for 4 hours, then leave it on warm until you're ready to eat.

When it's time to eat, put the chicken in a bowl and shred it with two forks.

Then you're ready to put in on a bun, pour on some sauce, or do whatever floats your barbecue boat.

I used this:



I really wanted to buy the Fiery Habenero flavor, but I didn't know if anyone else would be as brave as me.

Here it is, all together:

I had around 1/3 c. chicken, 1 T. sauce, and 2 spoonfuls of vinegar cole slaw all on a potato bun. I paired it with 1/2 baked sweet potato.