Slow-Cooker Hot Honey Chicken Sandwiches
Inspired by techniques from NYT Cooking.
Slow-cooked chicken thighs swimming in their own juices emerge impossibly tender, swathed in a warm coating of fiery honey and fresh cabbage slaw.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
Unlock all flavours with Premium
This flavour is part of Premium. You can see the ingredients and nutrition; the quantities and the full method are for members.
Premium: $4.99/month or $39.99/year.
Equipment
- large slow cooker
- small bowl
- 2 forks
- medium bowl
- instant-read thermometer
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 683 kcal |
| Protein | 51.8 g |
| Carbohydrate | 54.2 g |
| of which sugars | 24.2 g |
| of which free sugars | 21.8 g |
| Fat | 28.4 g |
| of which saturates | 5.3 g |
| Fibre | 3.6 g |
| Salt | 3.37 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
7.6 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
Metric · 4 servings
Chicken
- 900 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 15 ml vegetable oil
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes, plus more to taste
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- 6 g fine sea salt or table salt about 1 tsp
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
Hot honey
- 84 g honey about 4 tbsp
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp cider vinegar, plus more to taste
Slaw
- 225 g green cabbage, finely shredded
- 4 tbsp mayonnaise, plus extra for the buns
- 3 spring onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
To serve
- 4 soft rolls or buns (onion rolls are good)
- 4 tsp vinegary hot sauce
- 1
Slow cook. Put 900 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs into a large slow cooker along with 15 ml vegetable oil, 1 tsp dried chilli flakes, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp sweet paprika, ¼ tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp fine salt and ½ tsp ground black pepper. Stir everything together well; no additional liquid is needed. Cover and cook on the low setting for 4-5 hours until the chicken is very tender and reaches 74 °C in the thickest part.
- 2
Hot honey. At any time before you plan to serve, stir 4 tbsp honey together with 1 tsp dried chilli flakes and ½ tsp garlic powder, then cover and leave at room temperature.
- 3
Optional reduction. If you like, lift the cooked chicken out of the slow cooker and simmer the cooking juices in a separate small pan until the volume has halved, then return the chicken to the cooker.
- 4
Shred. Use 2 forks to shred the cooked chicken into small, bite-sized pieces directly in the pot, mixing it with its cooking juices. Check that the thickest part reaches 74 °C. Stir in the spiced honey mixture and 2 tsp cider vinegar, then taste the chicken and add more salt, chilli flakes or vinegar if you prefer a stronger flavour.
- 5
Slaw. Toss together 225 g shredded green cabbage, 4 tbsp mayonnaise, 3 thinly sliced spring onions and 1 tbsp lemon juice in a medium bowl. Season to taste.
- 6
Toast and assemble. Split and toast 4 soft rolls or onion rolls if you like. Spread the insides with mayonnaise and a few shakes of vinegary hot sauce.
- 7
Serve. Pile the hot honey chicken onto the prepared rolls, top generously with the slaw and the bun lids.
Storage
Best served at once while the chicken is hot and the slaw is still crisp. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
