Grilled Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

These BBQ chicken sandwiches are super fast and surprisingly simple to prepare! Chicken thighs (or breasts if you want to save a few calories) are rubbed with a spice mix and grilled. While they rest, a sweet and savory barbecue sauce is prepared on the stove. The chicken is shredded, tossed in the sauce, piled on soft sandwich rolls, and topped with a pickle or two. How does that sound?

While chicken thighs (the "dark meat") are naturally going to be more juicy and tender (the higher fat content contributes to this), breasts are an option. If you take the leaner route you might want to trim the breasts into tenders before rubbing and grilling (so a larger surface area gets coated in seasoning). Do your best not to overcook the chicken and DO NOT shred/penetrate it with any sharp object before it has cooled (this mistake would allow all of the moisture to escape and dry the meat out). Also being health-conscious, I reduced the sugar called for in the original recipe (in fact, I omitted the brown sugar all together). With a tablespoonful of natural unsulfured molasses the sauce was still plenty sweet and slightly smoky.

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts

Rub:
1  tsp.  paprika
1  tsp.  chili powder
3/4  tsp.  ground cumin
1/2  tsp.  ground chipotle chile pepper
1/2  tsp.  salt
1/4  tsp.  ground ginger

Sauce:
2  tsp.  canola oil
1/2  cup onion, diced
1  tsp.  chili powder
1/2  tsp.  garlic powder
1/2  tsp.  dry mustard
1/4  tsp.  ground allspice
1/8  tsp.  ground red pepper
1  cup  tomato sauce
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. molasses

whole wheat sandwich rolls, for serving
dill pickles, sliced

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat outdoor grill or indoor grill pan to medium-high heat. Combine the rub ingredients in a small bowl. Rub over the surface of the chicken. Grill chicken until the juices run clear. Set aside to cool completely before shredding.

2. Meanwhile, to prepare the sauce, heat canola oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Stir in the shredded chicken and cook several minutes until heated through. Serve chicken on sandwich rolls with sliced pickles.

Serves 4-6.

(Adapted from Cooking Light)