There is no denying that buffalo chicken, in one form or another, can be found on just about every menu throughout the US these days. While the obsession started with wings, the hot sauce and butter combination has expanded its horizons, so to say, and found its way into numerous new forms and combinations. Whether you are enjoying a buffalo chicken sandwich, tenders, or even buffalo cauliflower bites, it's a flavor we have all come to love and enjoy quite often. Today's recipe, Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Buffalo Chicken, combines that classic sauce with juicy, shredded chicken that can be enjoyed on a bun, as is, or just about any way imaginable making it perfect for weekly meal preppers! Are you a buffalo chicken fanatic and want to learn how to make your very own at home in just a few minutes? Join me as I take pressure cooking to a new level...Let's Get Cooking!
The only prep work this recipe requires is making the buffalo sauce, but we can knock that out while the chicken is cooking in our pressure cooker. Begin by adding the chicken stock and trivet to your pressure cooker. Place the chicken breasts on the trivet, secure the lid, and set the vent to the sealing position. Pressure cook the chicken on high pressure for 8 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking, we can make our buffalo sauce. Now obviously you can use prepared store-bought sauce, but that stuff is full of preservatives and fillers so why not spend 5 minutes of time while the chicken is cooking and make a much better sauce? That's what I thought! All you have to do is melt some butter in a small saucepan and remove it from the heat. Add the hot sauce and granulated garlic and whisk until everything comes together. This sauce is fairly mild, so any hot pepper freaks and spice lovers out there will want to add a teaspoon or so of cayenne pepper to kick things up a notch! Taste it first and spice it up to your liking. Once satisfied, set aside and simply wait for the chicken to finish up in the pressure cooker.
Once the chicken is done cooking, allow it to naturally release pressure, which will take an additional 20 minutes or so. I know you probably want to speed things up and just do a quick pressure release, but allowing it to naturally release gives the chicken ample time to finish cooking and for the juices to redistribute throughout the breasts. This is key to juicy chicken we want to eat rather than overcooked, dry chicken not even fit for the dogs! When able, open the lid to reveal some bland and quite boring looking chicken, lol! Don't worry, our sauce is going to fix that, but we needed base level chicken as our recipe foundation.
Transfer the chicken to a separate container and use a couple forks or tongs to shred it as fine as possible. As long as you followed the previous instructions accordingly, the chicken should shred with minimal effort.
As you can probably imagine, the next step is to simply pour the buffalo sauce over the chicken and toss to coat. If you are following the recipe card below, the one pound of shredded chicken to the one cup of sauce we made is just about the perfect ratio. However, just because measurements tend to get overlooked at times, start with half the sauce and continue to add as you mix it with the chicken so there is enough sauce, but the shredded chicken isn't swimming in it. I will leave it up to you, the individual, to sauce things up according to your personal preference. Once everything cools a bit and the chicken absorbs some sauce, it will likely end up a bit "less saucy" than you think so plan accordingly. It's always easier to go back and add some more sauce is necessary, just sayin!
That pretty much wraps up this Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Buffalo Chicken! You can serve it on a bun, in a wrap, as is plain with some blue cheese crumbles, or even top a salad! This shredded buffalo chicken is so versatile it can fit just about any diet/lifestyle out there depending on how you serve it. It's quick, easy, and requires minimal effort making it a great weeknight meal or weekly meal prep option! You can even try different sauces and keep the shredded chicken separate so you don't get tired of eating the same thing a few days in a row. It may no longer be buffalo chicken at that point, but teriyaki or barbecue shredded chicken don't sound so bad themselves, eh? Run with it and tag me on Instagram @grubbongrub how you made your #InstantPotPressureCookerBuffaloChicken so others can try your version as well....Just Keep Cooking!
INSTANT POT PRESSURE COOKER BUFFALO CHICKEN
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