Hosting a Super Bowl viewing party should be easy. They’re unpretentious, casual parties where you can serve a bevy of not so healthy appetizers–from Buffalo wings to cheese balls–relatively guilt-free.

This party isn’t about cooking up the latest culinary trends on your best china. Rather, it’s a night overflowing with plain and simple portable dishes since it’s assumed that the television (not the food) is the focal point of the evening.

I was thrilled when asked to take part in a Super Bowl Slow Cooker challenge sponsored by Wafair.com (where you can purchase a “zillion things home”) when I received a portable 6-quart Hamilton Beach Slow Cooker (perfect if you’re the host or if you’re bringing food to a party).

Cooking a dish in a slow cooker for your Super Bowl party is wise way to go. It avoids keeping you locked in the kitchen all night. And, if you’re bringing a dish to a party, the portability of this slow cooker allows the freshly-cooked dish to be transferred from one kitchen to another, hassle-free, with no mess!

Aside from the traditional Super Bowl finger foods that leave your stomach begging for substance (chips and salsa, cheese spreads, and pigs-n-blankets) I’m always looking for a main course option, besides pizza, that’s easy to serve and equally tasty.  A Super Bowl main course should be perfect for a buffet-style meal. Because, let’s be honest, nobody is going to want to sit down at a table and eat a civilized meal when they can be eating (and screaming) at the television.

For the cook-off, I decided to make some tasty Slow Cooked Pulled BBQ Chicken.

I vetoed the more traditional pork sliders since we had just eaten pork chops last week and I figured chicken is more universally loved among a large group of people.  This recipe only requires a few basic ingredients that you should have in your stocked pantry and fridge.  However, I didn’t have any good BBQ sauce and it’s the sauce that truly dictates the flavor to this dish.  Luckily, I found my my favorite sauce in stock, Stubb’s–it’s not too smoky, has a little bit of tang, and isn’t soo thick you can’t find your meat.

 

All that’s required of you, the cook, is shredding the cooked chicken breasts and adding BBQ sauce; the hard work is up to your slow cooker. That’s it!  No culinary skill required— my favorite type of recipe.

Shredded Slow Cooked Chicken

Just make sure you don’t overcook your chicken.  As I’ve learned the hard way, white meat tends to dry up very quickly in the cookers.  So, keep an eye out.  While this particular recipe calls for 4 ½-5 hours of slow cooking, you should err on the safe side and underestimate the cooking time before you shred the chicken.  You’ll want to take advantage of the time allotted to marinate the cooked shredded meat in the additional BBQ sauce and corn starch.

When complete, serve generous portions of your hot BBQ Pulled Chicken on top of nice moist, thick buns (splurge a little and don’t use the regular white hamburger buns, they’re too thin and won’t support all that sweet and savory chicken).

I promise, your guests will be pleasantly surprised with their hearty Slow Cooked Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches.

On a night when people are usually only focused on the reception of the TV, this dish will not only peak their interest but also satisfy their appetites.

Have fun!

Disclaimer:

I received a 6-quart Hamilton Beach Slow Cooker and a $25 gift card so that I could create the best ever Slow Cooked BBQ Pulled Chicken for the Super Bowl Snack-Off Challenge sponsored by Wayfair.com.  As always, all opinions expressed in this post are my own.