First off, I’m not from the South (obviously) and I don’t know a helluva lot about the art of barbecue. My first real taste of a Southern barbecued meal was at a BBQ joint smack dab in the middle of my old hippy/Italian neighbourhood, Commercial Drive. The food may not have been the most authentic as the pacific northwest is a bit off-course from Kansas City, the Carolinas, or any other territory that prides themselves on some sweet ol’ BBQ…but that ‘cue was tasty.
I may not have the history or even a smoker, but I’ve got gumption. I’ve tried (to great success, I might add) my hand at making pulled pork sandwiches and this weekend I wanted to recreate some of that taste in a new way. And it all started with an article in Bon Appetit and a recipe for North Carolina coleslaw. I made the slaw the night before, intending to serve it with some pan-fried cod. While it was okay as a side dish, the slaw really needed to be a part of something meaty and spicy to get things singing. So out from the fridge I pulled some chicken thighs, seasoned them and cooked them up in the remainder of the vinegary, spicy coleslaw dressing. After the chicken was cooked and well-sauced, I deboned them, shredded the meat and put them into hamburger buns. Of course, I topped them with the North Carolina slaw. Hot-diggity, this was a tasty sandwich!
smokey bbq chicken sandwich topped with north carolina coleslaw
I small green cabbage, shredded
1 c shredded carrot
1 small onion, grated on a box grater2 c cider vinegar
1 T kosher salt
1 T ground white pepper
1 T red pepper flakes
2 T white sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
1 t freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c ketchup6 chicken thighs, skin removed
salt & pepper
1 T cumin
1 t chipotle powder
1 t dried thyme
1 T olive oil1. Combine the cabbage, carrot and the onion in a large bowl. Mix the dressing ingredients in a medium sized bowl and pour about 1/3 of it over the slaw. Refrigerate the slaw and keep the remainder of the dressing aside.
2. Turn on oven and preheat to 450 degrees. Season the chicken thighs and on the stove, heat up the oil a large oven proof dish. Add chicken thighs to dish and brown on both sides. Pour in remaining dressing and cover the pot with a lid. Place in oven and cook for about 40 minutes or until the meat is cooked and is falls easily from the bones.
3. Remove the bones, shred the chicken and place on white hamburger buns. Top with coleslaw.
Print This Recipe
That is one stacked sandwich! :0D
One thing you might try to recreate if you ever have the time is something called a “Pig in a Puppy.” It’s a famous sandwich at King’s Barbeque in Kinston, NC, where we (and every other family) always stopped on the way to the beach. I don’t eat meat anymore, but I still remember it well.
What you do is make hushpuppy batter (you can find a recipe online but look for one that has sugar in it) and then deep fry the size of two hamburger buns, instead of in little balls. Make a sandwich with barbeque (our barbeque is always pulled pork, and if you really want it authentic look for an “eastern” NC sauce, made with vinegar) and slaw. It’s out of this world.
oh my gosh. that looks so delicious.
Beautiful! I love cole slaw on a sandwich.
That looks delish. However, if I turn my oven on to 450, my smoke alarms start screaming at me. God I need to move…
🙂
Ohhh that looks so good. I mean I just love it when people put coleslaw ON the sandwich or the burger. I always put coleslaw on my sandwich, never on the side.
I wish my kitchen was cooler, I would sooooo make that. I am craving bbq anything with coleslaw. Nice job!
Although my chicken days are over, I have to admit, that burger looks really good!!
Looks great to me! I love BBQ, and am totally sure what we make and eat are nothing like the real stuff.
Now that is a SANDWICH. Damn!! Delicious!
gosh… I am so hungry already. *drool*
you make being a vegetarian hard 😛
So a while ago you posted about using smoked applewood cheddar and I was intrigued! But then I couldn’t find that post again to see if you’d answered where I could find it. I should’ve just used google as I did now. Anyway! I found it at Safeway and it was really expensive ($5 for a fairly small piece) but I had to get it and WOW it’s so good. I’m going to have to see if Costco still carries it. So thanks for highlighting it. 🙂
YUM! That looks awesome! I’ve had pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw before…I’ll have to try a chicken version.
Sweet Jebus, that looks good.
Your blog makes me hungry >.< Love your posts!
Monika xo
p.s comment on my cbox if you like 🙂
OOh. Lovely recipies you have! I’m going to make that chick pea salad with lemon parmesan dressing right now!
I just started a restaurant blog. It’s at http://www.thehumblestfruit.blogspot.com.
I’m going to put a link to your site.
Thanks!
indeed it is, thanks veggiegirl!
mmm, love the sounds of that, judith! i’ve never had a hushpuppy before.
thanks, sew bettie!
coleslaw on a sandwich, is great rachel! glad you approve.
yikes, erika! i just like to cook fast…this would work well at lower heats too!
dawn, our place is pretty lucky. as long as it’s not sweltering outside we can cook just fine. currently, the weather outside is beautiful and summery…not sweltering.
bijoux, no more chicken? so sad!
so true, sara. but this is pretty tasty too!
damn right, cakespy!
shonna, usually i do eat vegetarian-like but i have been posting some very meaty posts lately!!
mcallie, licking the screen won’t help!
glad you could find it, eat me! mmmm, applewood smoked cheddar. yum.
rhino, the chicken works really well!
thanks jessica & monika.
hilda, that salad is the bomb! enjoy 🙂
I’m off to find a bigger mouth… 😉
This is not what I need to be looking at when my stomach is growling for dinner! I NEED to have this sandwich!
My mom WILL make this. xD
After introducing my Canadian fiance’ to Southern BBQ here in Atlanta, every time he visits, he wants it! And judging from your delicious handiwork, it won’t be so hard for me to recreate the experience when I move to Quebec!
Judith, when I saw “King’s Barbecue”, had to post a comment! Even though I live about 20 minutes east of King’s, I have never had a “pig in a puppy.”
Eastern NC barbecue sauce is made with vinegar, salt, pepper with NO sugar or tomatoes of any kind, and as Judith said, it IS out of this world!
I love all barbecue!! The more stacked on the sandwich and the messier the better.
this is one of my weaknesses…pulled pork sammich! (i ate pulled pork nearly everywhere we went last year on a trip to memphis.) that sandwich looks just divine.
aforkfullofspagetti, haha! good luck 🙂
Mevrouw Cupcake, it’s a good sandwich for dinner!
kali, good luck in quebec-ifying your southern heritage!
I am Coraircate, well whoever does make this sandwich will have a pretty lucky household!
pfirsch, well then, i should head down to north carolina, stat!
eat, i couldn’t agree more!
cinderelly, pulled pork is good…pulled chicken…as good! better even (maybe)!!
Mmmmmmmmm, this looks incredible!
This looks like a rockin’ sandwich. Wow. I am a new fan of coleslaw so a bit obsessed! 🙂
thanks sara, it’s pretty tasty!
kandice, i’ve been obsessed with coleslaw, so no worries 🙂
I made a variation of this on vacation a couple of weeks ago and it was amazing! The photo I took was terrible, but I had to post it anyway. Keep the recipe’s coming! Thanks!!!
Ohhh … om nom nom. I was born and raised in North Carolina, and let me tell you, the debate over the “right” way to make a bbq sandwich rages on. Pfirsch’s recipe, the Eastern variety, is the one I prefer – but it does have sugar in it! Apple cider vinegar, salt, black pepper, red pepper, a dash of hot sauce, and brown sugar, with the pork cooked for at least six hours over hickory chips. Top it with cold coleslaw, slap it in a bun, and serve it with sweet iced tea. Dude. Doesn’t get any better.
And hushpuppies? Are divine with pork. You can find mixes and recipes online, if ever you want to try them. Calabash style are savory, with onions in the mix, or you can go with slightly sweet varieties which work brilliantly with fried or spicy food.
I made this. It’s a fantastic recipe, and I loved the cool taste of slaw against the spicier chicken. I’d suggest backing off on the hot pepper flakes, maybe 2t instead of 1T? Bottom line is that this is another pleat-tacular that should go into the book you’ll eventually publish.