I know a lot of you are super busy during the weekdays, so I wanted to figure out a recipe that you could cook while you’re at work. There’s nothing better than walking through your front door after a long day of work and smelling the delicious flavors that have been cooking for you all day. Nothing to worry about, dinner is finished, and you don’t have to stress yourself any more than you already are!
If you guys haven’t already got some fish sauce, go ahead and give it a try! I know, I know…it smells absolutely rancid. BUT, trust me here it will add a depth of flavor to almost every savory dish you make. I started adding it to pretty much everything I cook now – stews, grilled chicken, marinara sauce – you name it! Just hold your nose, and toss it in, you’ll believe me when you taste it.
Though, if you do get fish sauce, opt for a good brand like Red Boat Fish Sauce. This brand is a bit pricy, I know that, but you don’t use a lot of it at a time, so it will last you months. Most of the store bought fish sauces (even the ones in Asian grocery stores) will have tons of extra additives, giving either ingredients you don’t want or a carb count you don’t want.
You can without a doubt use frozen chicken thighs for this recipe, heck – that’s what I did! They end up bringing a bit more moisture to the party, so when you let the sauce reduce at the end, make sure you take the lid off of the slow cooker. Oh, and if you don’t have a slow cooker I highly suggest getting one. Letting your food cook all day while you’re at work is an awesome thing, giving you both a stress free dinner and more time on your hands.
Just remember that chicken is pretty protein heavy, and although we are using the fattier cuts plus adding butter to this, we still need a side dish to balance out the protein to the fats. Feel free to serve with a side salad of mixed greens topped with cheese, hard boiled egg, bacon, and ranch!
Yields 4 servings of Simple Keto BBQ Pulled Chicken
The Preparation
- 1/3 cup butter, salted, melted
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce, or coconut aminos
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1/4 cup erythritol
- 42 ounces boneless, skinless chicken thighs
The Execution
1. Gather all ingredients. In a bowl, combine the melted butter, red wine vinegar, chicken broth, tomato paste, yellow mustard, grain mustard, liquid smoke, soy sauce, chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, erythritol, and fish sauce.
2. Stir the sauce until combined. Taste the sauce, adding more vinegar for added tang and more erythritol for added sweetness as needed. Note: the flavor of the sauce will change some as it blends with the chicken juices during cooking.
3. Add the chicken thighs to a slow cooker. Turn the slow cooker on to low and measure out the butter on a plate, letting it sit to come to room temperature. After 2 hours, there should be quite a lot of juice from the chicken in the slow cooker. Submerge the chicken thighs in the juice.
4. Pour the sauce over the chicken and add the butter. Turn the slow cooker to high and let cook for an additional 3–4 hours. Alternatively, if you will be out all day, simply put the chicken, sauce, and butter in the slow cooker and cook on low for 7 hrs. Shred the chicken until no large pieces remain. Keep (or set) the slow cooker on high and remove the lid, cooking for an additional 45 minutes to reduce sauce.
5. After 45 minutes, the sauce should have reduced by about an inch. Mix the chicken into the sauce and serve.
This makes a total of 4 servings of Simple Keto BBQ Pulled Chicken. Each serving comes out to be 599 calories, 42.8g fats, 3.6g net carbs, and 52.8g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 1/3 cup butter | 537 | 60.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 |
| 1/4 cup red wine vinegar | 11 | 0 | 0.2 | 0 | 0.2 | 0 |
| 1/4 cup chicken broth | 4 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| 1/4 cup tomato paste | 54 | 0.3 | 12.4 | 2.7 | 9.7 | 2.8 |
| 2 tablespoon yellow mustard | 19 | 1 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 1.2 |
| 2 tablespoon whole grain mustard | 19 | 1 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 1.2 |
| 1 tablespoon liquid smoke | 1 | 0 | 0.2 | 0 | 0.2 | 0 |
| 1 tablespoon soy sauce | 8 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 1.3 |
| 2 teaspoon chili powder | 15 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.7 |
| 1 teaspoon cumin | 8 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper | 6 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
| 1 teaspoon fish sauce | 2 | 0 | 0.2 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| 1/4 cup erythritol | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 ounce boneless, skinless chicken thighs | 1703 | 106.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 201.9 |
| Totals | 2396 | 171.2 | 22.3 | 7.9 | 14.4 | 211.1 |
| Per Serving (/4) | 599 | 42.8 | 5.6 | 2 | 3.6 | 52.8 |
Simple Keto BBQ Pulled Chicken
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup butter salted, melted
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 2 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoon whole grain mustard
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- ¼ cup erythritol
- 42 ounce boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Instructions
- Gather all ingredients. In a bowl, combine the melted butter, red wine vinegar, chicken broth, tomato paste, yellow mustard, grain mustard, liquid smoke, soy sauce, chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, erythritol, and fish sauce.
- Stir the sauce until combined. Taste the sauce, adding more vinegar for added tang and more erythritol for added sweetness as needed. Note: the flavor of the sauce will change some as it blends with the chicken juices during cooking.
- Add the chicken thighs to a slow cooker. Turn the slow cooker on to low and measure out the butter on a plate, letting it sit to come to room temperature. After 2 hours, there should be quite a lot of juice from the chicken in the slow cooker. Submerge the chicken thighs in the juice.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken and add the butter. Turn the slow cooker to high and let cook for an additional 3–4 hours. Alternatively, if you will be out all day, simply put the chicken, sauce, and butter in the slow cooker and cook on low for 7 hrs. Shred the chicken until no large pieces remain. Keep (or set) the slow cooker on high and remove the lid, cooking for an additional 45 minutes to reduce sauce.
- After 45 minutes, the sauce should have reduced by about an inch. Mix the chicken into the sauce and serve.
