If cooking with carbonated beverages (also known as soda, soda pop, or just pop) is new to you, then allow me to explain why it works. Soda's
carbonation acts as a tenderizer, and you can use it in meat and poultry dishes to achieve great results. The following recipes call for regular root beer or Diet Dr. Pepper. If you're unfamiliar with these flavors, try substituting your favorite cola beverage to replicate the caramel influence.
For example, this
Jumble Joy recipe calls for root beer as part of the marinade and sauce for a deliciously tender and sweet pulled chicken dish. The root beer is added to the other ingredients, and the chicken marinates overnight while tenderizing and absorbing some of those unique flavors. Then, the whole thing, sauce and all, is cooked low and slow in the slow cooker until it's tender and ready to be shredded and served on soft, fluffy sandwich rolls with shredded cheese and fresh Pico de gallo or salsa.
Ingredients:Root Beer
Ketchup
Apple cider vinegar
Yellow mustard
Brown sugar
Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper
Ground ginger
Garlic powder
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
The Gunny Sack recipe also uses soda pop, Diet Dr. Pepper in this case, to work its magic along with barbecue sauce in the slow cooker. Here, the chicken is taken directly from the freezer, no thawing or marinating required, and cooked. When finished, the chicken is transferred to a standing mixer and shredded using the mixing blade (although a dough hook may do a better job). Since this recipe only has three ingredients, it epitomizes the definition of a quick meal.
Whether you choose one or the other or opt for a different soda or shredding method, it's worth your time to try out at least one chicken meal with your favorite cola-flavored beverage. You can even use diet soda if you prefer since the tenderizing effect comes from the carbonation and not the syrup. Enjoy!
Full Recipes:
The Gunny SackJumble Joy
