Slow Cooked Pulled Chicken
Make short work of deliciously succulent pulled chicken with this pressure cooker recipe. Pressure cooking lets you create this meal in a fraction of the time it would take in your oven, tenderising the meat and retaining nutrients for healthier results. A shorter cooking time for this large batch means you can cut your energy bills too! Use the same pan to cook your rice once your chicken is ready – only one pan to wash up.
Servings: 6
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Top tip: This recipe is designed for our Judge Everyday Pressure Cooker. Always read the manual for your Pressure Cooker for safe and effective results!
Ingredients
- 800g boneless chicken breasts
- 40ml sunflower or vegetable oil
- 1-2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp paprika
- 3 tbsp water
- 350g passata/tomato sauce
- 80g BBQ sauce
- 250g rice
Method
- Mix the garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Use to season both sides of your chicken breasts.
- With the lid off, heat up the oil in the pressure cooker on a medium heat, then add the seasoned chicken breasts and brown for 2-3 minutes on each side.
- Pour approximately 40g of the BBQ sauce and passata on top of your chicken breasts and then add 3 tablespoons of water. Place the lid on the pressure cooker and close.
- Set the weight/pressure valve to the high pressure setting ‘||’. Place on the heat source and wait for the visual pressure indictor to rise. When there is slight hissing, this indicates that the correct cooking temperature has been reached. Allow to cook for approximately 1 hour.
- When the cooking time is over, take the pressure cooker off the heat and allow the pressure to release slowly (approximately 20 minutes). Don’t attempt to open the pressure cooker during this time – wait for the visual pressure indicator to drop down.
- Once the pressure is released and the chicken is fully cooked, take it out of the pressure cooker and use two forks to shred into small pieces.
- Keep the liquid from the chicken and BBQ sauce in the pressure cooker and add the rest of the BBQ sauce.
- Mix the sauce and shredded chicken until everything is coated.
- Remove the chicken from the pressure cooker, cover and keep warm.
- Clean the pressure cooker and add the rice with 600ml of water and a pinch of salt. Cover the pressure cooker and close.
- Choose the high pressure setting ‘||’, bring to pressure on a medium heat then cook for 10 minutes before removing from the heat. Leave the rice in the pot for another 10 minutes, allowing the slow release of pressure and for the visual pressure indicator to drop before opening the cooker.
- Serve the rice with the pulled chicken, and garnish with spring onions for a tangy crunch.
Batch cook your pulled chicken to serve in other ways for future meals – delicious in buns, tacos, burritos, with nachos and more! Once cooked, let the chicken come to room temperature then place portions in freezer-safe sealed containers. Keep in the fridge for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 6 months.
The benefits of pressure cooking
- Pressure cookers cook food faster using high temperatures and steam. Generally, foods cooked in a pressure cooker will take 1/3 of the cooking time – saving you time and energy.
- If you favour cheaper cuts of meat, your pressure cooker can help by tenderising these cuts in the same time it would take to roast or pan fry more expensive options.
- The longer food is cooked, the more nutrients are damaged. Foods retain more of their nutrients and are tastier when made in the pressure cooker – in a shorter cooking time using less water.
- Pressure cookers lend themselves to one pot recipes – saving you on the washing up!
Top Tips for pressure cooking
- Thicken sauces after cooking by heating on the hob without the lid.
- Pre-brown meat and vegetables in an open cooker before adding any liquid.
- Any liquid which produces steam can be used in the pressure cooker e.g. water, stock, wine, milk. Never use oil or melted fat as a cooking liquid unless in small quantities for browning ingredients before cooking under pressure.
- Match the size of your pressure cooker to the size of your hob ring for the most energy efficient results.
- Aim to maintain a gentle hissing sound and very little escape of steam from around the weight of your pressure cooker. If the heat setting is too high, a loud hissing will be heard. This is a signal to lower the heat as you are wasting energy and your cooker may boil dry. If the heat setting is too low, no hissing will be heard. In this case, increase the heat setting and add a little extra cooking time.
- Always read the manual for information on cooking times, filling levels and safety considerations.
