Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sliders with Blue Cheese Celery Slaw

By lorik

Prepare the chicken and the components for the slaw up to a day ahead. Dress the celery just before serving so the slaw doesn't get watery.

Ingredients

• For Slaw:
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp granulated garlic
• 1 tsp celery salt
• 3 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup diced carrot
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
• 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup hot sauce (such as Frank's), divided
• 40 cocktail buns, halved
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 6 cups thinly sliced celery
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

Step 1

Combine onion powder, garlic, and celery salt. Sprinkle over chicken. Sear chicken in oil, in batches, in a large saute pan over high heat until browned on both sides; adding more oil as necessary, about 20 minutes total. Transfer chicken to an 8 quart slow cooker.

Sweat onion, carrot, and celery in 1 Tbsp butter in the same pan over medium heat until softened; 3-4 minutes. Deglaze pan with broth, scraping up any browned bits. Transfer mixture to slow cooker and pour 1/2 cup hot sauce over the top. Cover and cook chicken until fork tender on high setting, about 2 hours. Transfer chicken to cutting board and shred with 2 forks. Strain liquids from slow cooker; discard solids. Return chicken and strained sauce to slow cooker.

Melt 4 Tbsp butter and remaining 1/2 cup hot sauce in a saucepan over medium heat; stir into slow cooker. Set cooker on warm and heat chicken 30 minutes more; season with salt and pepper.

For the slaw, process mayonnaise, sour cream, blue cheese, vinegar, Worcestershire, and Dijon in food processor until smooth. Toss celery and parsely with dressing just before serving.

Serve chicken on buns topped with slaw.