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Are you looking for an easy alternative to dutch oven pulled pork – then look no further. This is a simple simmer recipe for dutch oven pulled chicken. Its one of those recipes that can sit on the campfire, in a dutch oven, pretty much on its own. 

We love pulled pork, but sometimes we want a lighter alternative to that big roast. We love chicken, and decided to make an attempt at making our very own dutch oven pulled chicken. 

I am sure that you can make this pulled chicken in a dutch oven inside, in your oven, but sometimes there is magic in just watching the flames, and making food over fire.

Now before we go into the recipe lets talk about what it even means to have “pulled” any meat. The point of this slow cooking method is that you cook the meat in a way that the collagen begins to melt away, creating strings in the meat that you can then “pull” apart with a fork – therefore the name pulled chicken or pulled pork. You can read more about this process here.

Campfire with a dutch oven, filled with chicken and barbeque sauce.

This was such a hit, that I thought I would share this dutch oven barbeque chicken recipe with you. 

Dutch Oven Barbeque Pulled Chicken

We made this recipe in our campfire dutch oven. One of my favorite accessories for campfire cooking. You will need a dutch oven, a long spoon to stir it, heat resilient gloves and a great campfire – if you dont know how to build a campfire you can find our guide here

Whenever you cook outdoors you want to be mindful of hygiene. Especially chicken is something you want to keep apart from other things on your chopping board. We usually bring one chopping board for meat and one for greens. You can keep your own system, just be sure that you keep it in mind. 

3 pieces of Chicken cooked so that it pulls apart with a fork - still inside the pot where it was cooked.

How to make dutch oven pulled chicken.

Start by rubbing all of the spices all over the chicken. If you have the time you can leave it to rest and marinade for a little bit. 

Add plenty of oil to the bottom of the dutch oven, and add the vegetables to the oven. Add the chicken and stir it over low heat. 

Cook the chicken a little on each side, to create a shell on the breasts. 

Add tomato, Barbeque sauce, and chicken stock to the mix. 

Leave it to simmer over the campfire for about 2 hours. Turn the chicken over, about every 30 minutes. Keep an eye on how warm it gets – it is looks as though its boiling dry, you can add more water to the pulled chicken mix. 

Pulled chicken - all pulled apart inside the dutch oven.

After two hours, remove all of the barbeque sauce and set it aside. Shred the chicken with two forks and stir it over the fire for about 3 minutes.

Add the barbeque sauce back in as you like it, or keep it on the side to be added individually. 

Pulled chicken inside a burger bun with coleslaw and ready to eat.

Serve it up on a burger bun or a roll with some coleslaw. Enjoy. 

Dutch Oven Pulled Chicken

Dutch oven pulled chicken is a lighter alternative to our popular dutch oven pulled pork. Its a very hands off recipe that will leave you with perfect pulled chicken every time.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword Dutch oven pulled chicken
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Servings 4

Equipment

  • Campfire dutch oven
  • Campfire
  • Heat recilliant gloves

Ingredients

  • 2 Onions
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 2 cm ginger (About an inch)
  • 1 tbsp Paprika
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 1 tsp peper
  • 4 chicken breasts
  • 3 oz bbq sause
  • 3 tbsp vineger
  • 1 cup canned tomatoes
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • Water as needed

Questions people ask about Dutch oven pulled chicken:

How do you shred chicken breast quickly?

One of the things that is important to be able to shred the chicken after cooking is that it has broken down the protein that keeps the together. That is done with time, and slow heat.

Once it has broken down enough it is not a problem to shred the chicken. This recipe makes it easy, and the chicken just comes apart when you poke it with a fork.

What goes with BBQ pulled chicken?

One thing is cooking up the chicken, but once you have it how do you serve it? Usually I serve pulled chicken (and pulled pork) on a burger bun with coleslaw. I love how they go together. But there are really no limits to what you might serve with your pulled chicken.

You could serve it with corn on a cob, serve it with fries, serve it with a salat next to it. This recipe makes the meet one of the start players of your meal – and you can serve it as you like.

Pulled chicken in barbeque sauce - Inside a campfire dutch oven. ready to be cooked over a campfire.
campfire pulled chicken, ready to be cooked

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