Tiny, tasty sliders? We'll take ten.
Johnny Cakes with Cranberry BBQ Pulled Chicken & Cranberry Butter
Chef Stephanie Banyas
15 sliders
1 hours 30 minutes
45 minutes
American
Appetizers
The day before your party, make the cranberry butter and cranberry BBQ sauce and shred your chicken. The day of, make your johnnycakes, mix your chicken with the warmed sauce, and serve.
Ingredients
blank
- 1/2 cup homemade cranberry sauce (or canned cranberry jelly)
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Hot sauce, to taste, optional
- 1 store-bought rotisserie chicken, skin removed and shredded by hand or with forks
- Green onion, thinly sliced
blank
- 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¼ cup cranberry sauce, above or canned cranberry jelly
- Pinch of sea salt
- Squeeze of lemon juice
blank
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups fine cornmeal
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2/3 cup water
- ¼ cup melted unsalted butter
blank
Directions
For the Sauce: Combine the cranberry sauce, ketchup, vinegar, orange juice, brown sugar, water and Worcestershire sauce in a medium saucepan.
Bring to a simmer over low heat and let cook for 10 minutes, stirring a few times.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the mustard, salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste. Let cool slightly. Keep covered in refrigerator until ready to use, up to 5 days.
When ready to serve, put the shredded chicken into a large bowl and add some of the sauce and toss to coat. Fold in some of the green onion. Cover and keep warm.
For the Butter: Combine the butter, cranberry sauce, salt, and lemon juice in a bowl and mix until smooth. Alternately, you can combine in a food processor/immersion blender/hand mixer and process until smooth.
For the Cakes: Preheat your oven to 250°F.
Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
Whisk together the eggs, milk, and water in a large bowl until combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until batter just comes together (lumps are ok!). Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
Heat a few tablespoons of oil and a few tablespoons of butter in a large nonstick or cast-iron pan until the mixture begins to shimmer.
Add scant ¼ cups of the batter to the pan leaving a few inches between each pancake. Spread the batter slightly just to even out the top using a small offset spatula.
Cook until bubbles begin to form on the surface and the surface takes on a matte appearance and the bottom is golden brown, about 2 minutes.
Transfer johnnycakes to a baking rack set on a baking sheet. Keep warm in oven while you prepare the remaining cakes.
To Serve: Spread each johnnycake with some of the cranberry butter, top with a spoonful of the BBQ chicken, add a bit more sauce, and serve.