I love slow cookers. In fact, I love them so much that I have two – one normal size and one really big honker I use when I’m making dinner for a small army. Now normally, chicken doesn’t come up on the slow cooker radar, at least not as much as beef or pork. And it’s true that it’s sometimes difficult to get a nice color to the chicken, but there are ways around that.
Slow cooked chicken is every bit as good as other meats, and it’s less expensive. It’s also a good idea to vary the kind of meat you eat. As much as I like beef, I know it’s not good for me to eat it every day. Enter the chicken.
Regular guests in the Manly Kitchen know that I love garlic, and that’s just one more reason for me to love this recipe. It uses a lot of garlic. A LOT! Don’t worry, though. As the garlic cooks it gets milder. And you’ve just got to try pouring the onions, garlic and cooking juices over noodles!
Let’s roll up our sleeves and go have some fun in the kitchen. (And wash your hands first!)
3 to 4 lbs. chicken drumsticks
1 large onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons paprika
30 to 40 garlic cloves
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Rinse chicken with cold running water. Pat dry.
Slice onion and line bottom of crock pot with slices.
Peel garlic. You will want at least one complete bulb of garlic, so plan ahead.
I a very large bowl, combine olive oil, paprika, garlic cloves, salt and pepper. Stir to get everything happy.
Put drumsticks in bowl and toss to coat. You need to be Manly here. Just use your hands, then wash them afterwards.
Put chicken in crock pot on top of onions.
Cover and cook on HIGH for about 5 hours. If you want to leave it all day (while at work, e.g.), use the LOW setting and it will take about 8 hours.
Serve with your favorite sides. Don’t forget to put some of the onions and garlic on every plate!
I use drumsticks for this recipe for a couple of reasons. First, they’re very inexpensive. Depending on appetites, this recipe can serve up to six people for very little cost. Second, they’re easy to deal with. If I’m having a more casual meal – friends in front of the TV watching a ball game, for instance, I wrap the very end of the drumstick with a strip of paper towel so fingers stay clean. Third, drumsticks have a stronger flavor than white meat, and I find it stands up well to all that garlic.
You can serve the onions and garlic by themselves as a sort of condiment, if you will. Or you could put them on top of mashed potatoes or – my favorite – noodles.
While I’m all for adjusting recipes, I recommend you keep the paprika in this one, as it adds a nice color to the chicken, and that’s a bit hard to do with slow cooker chicken.
Try this one out, then let me know how it went, and if you made adjustments. And until next time,
Play with your food!
Lane
Did you like this recipe? What recipes would you like to learn? Leave me a comment and tell me your thoughts! (And don’t forget to LIKE this post!) Share it using the tiles below.
Leave a Reply