For More Flavorful BBQ Chicken, Add A Can Of Cola To The Crock-Pot

We all have a guilty love affair with cola, with over half of Americans consuming the carbonated beverage. Typically, however, we prefer to enjoy the caramel-hued soft drink alongside our meals — rather than directly inside them. It may seem rather odd to suggest adding it to a barbecue, but it's a great way to make all the difference when making a tastier homemade barbecue chicken inside your Crock-Pot — and it borrows from a traditional deep Southern recipe.

A classic cola like Coke or Pepsi typically has sugar, and no shortage of it — 39 to 41 grams per typical 12-ounce can — alongside phosphoric acid (some citric in the latter as well) and natural flavors, giving the drink its distinctively spicy, aromatic, vanilla-like flavor with a decidedly citrusy finish. All of these factors make it work perfectly with chicken, providing an excellent sweet contrast to its savory profile (and slight richness, if you're using skin-on thighs or darker cuts), and complement the other ingredients you can find in our Coke barbecue sauce recipe, namely ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire, vinegar, and hot sauce. This provides a great basis for making a cola-infused barbecue of any sort, especially within a slow cooker. 

One important note: This isn't the time to get squeamish with your sugar content. Ditch the Coke Zero or Pepsi Max — you want the original, regular version here. Artificial sweetener simply won't give you the same syrupy mouthfeel or caramelization you want to make a recipe taste as indulgent as it should be. As Nigella Lawson herself warned about a cola and roasted ham recipe in season two of "Nigella Bites" — "not diet [Coke]! Full-fat only" (per YouTube).

A Crock-Pot makes for an excellent tool to try your hand at a cola-infused barbecue chicken. Allowing the bird to soak up the treacly, tangy taste of the dark soda in a slow cooker will ensure you get the flavor and juicy texture you want from this dish. The key is to pour the drink — a regular, 12 ounce can is a great serving quantity for a family-sized portion — into the mix along with the seasonings and barbecue sauce, and avoid adding any extra water to ensure you don't excessively dilute the mix, especially since the meat's juices get released during the process. Most importantly, you want to ensure your cola barbecue chicken doesn't turn into a fizzy barbecue broth of sorts. This is the main reason why a slow cooker like a Crock-Pot works much better than a regular saucepan — just make sure you know the best size slow cooker for your family.

As with most things in the kitchen, the trick is in the timing, and you want to ensure you get a proper sauce out of the cola, both in terms of consistency and flavor. Once your chicken has reached the safe internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit and you can transfer it to the plate, check what sauce you have left behind in the Crock-Pot. If it's too thin, reduce it slightly in a saucepan, although not so much that it becomes clumpy. Likewise, a good flavor test here is of the utmost importance: You want something sweet but not honeyed, savory without being overly salty, and with a barbecue's distinct smokiness combined with a touch of cola-boosted effervescence.