Crockpot Bourbon Chicken - The Recipe Critic (2024)

FAQs

Do I need to brown of the chicken before it goes in the slow cooker? ›

Sear the Chicken Before Adding It to the Slow Cooker

A caramelized piece of meat will always taste better in your dish.

That said, like most alcohol used in food, most of it boils off during the cooking process, leaving behind its sweet smoky flavor without the intoxicating side effects.

In addition, chicken breast has less fat and can become dry (chewy or rubbery) if cooked for too long.

Chicken breast fillets can be placed directly into the slow cooker, but to create richer, deeper flavours and better visual appeal, first sear the chicken breast in a hot pan over medium-high heat on each side for 1-2 minutes.

Cover your crock pot and cook chicken breasts on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Chicken is done when the internal temp reaches 165 degrees F. Use chicken in your favorite recipes. Perfect for shredding!

Yes, you can put raw chicken in a slow cooker! Slow cookers and Crock-Pots are designed to cook raw meats. The direct heat from the pot, lengthy cooking time and steam created from the tightly covered container destroys bacteria, making slow cooking safe. You can put frozen chicken in a slow cooker, too!

The longer cooking times mean lower temperatures are required for slow cooker recipes, and no boiling process can happen. So, for recipes that use alcoholic ingredients, it's important to avoid over-pouring, as the alcohol will not burn off in the pot like it would in other cooking vessels.

The choice is up to you. You may choose to use cooking methods that help to reduce the alcohol content and use less alcohol in a dish to make it safer for your child. Otherwise the safer option is to choose to leave out alcoholic drinks when preparing food for babies and children.

Southern France is known for chicken cooked in red wine, but in northern France, chicken is often cooked in dark beer with onions to get a rich, caramelized flavor. Non-alcoholic version: Use a dark non-alcoholic beer or 1 cup of chicken broth in place of the dark beer.

Always cook your boneless skinless chicken breasts on LOW for the best results. I do not recommend cooking boneless chicken breast on HIGH, as it will become very dry and tough, even if you check it early. On high, the chicken turns out drier; I consistently have the best results with low.

Why is my chicken rubbery after crockpot? ›

As mentioned above, overcooked chicken is the most common reason for rubbery chicken because the chicken loses moisture as it cooks. Checking the internal temperature of the chicken is the best way to avoid this.

Over and over AND OVER again, we have found that chicken breast registers at 165° F (the FDA recommended safe temp) right around 3 hours on LOW. Sometimes less, sometimes more depending on the size of the breast or other ingredients in the slow cooker.

Chicken pieces, particularly chicken thighs and legs, will dry out less quickly and maintain their texture best when layered on top of other ingredients. Plus, this helps to flavor the entire dish as the chicken cooks and releases juices.

"Browning, or caramelizing, meat before putting it into a slow cooker isn't 100 percent necessary, but it is well worth the effort for the most flavorful and full-bodied end result," he says. "The caramelized surface of the meat will lend rich flavor and color to the finished dish."

Chicken thighs, on the other hand, are more forgiving, making them especially well suited to the slow cooker because their dark meat becomes meltingly tender during the long cooking time; for this reason, we cook them longer than bone-in or boneless breasts, and we don't check their temperature.

Browning Is Better

And if you dredge the meat in flour before you brown it, your sauce will thicken up to make a gravy. You should always brown ground beef or any ground meat in a skillet before adding it to your slow cooker to prevent the meat from clumping up or from adding excess grease to your cooked dish.

Skipping browning isn't a shortcut, but is instead another path to delicious results. Think about chicken soup: Because the chicken isn't browned, it's spoon-tender with a delicate flavor. The same goes for chicken mafe, chicken tinga, khao man gai and so many other classic dishes.

However, washing raw poultry, beef, pork, lamb or veal before cooking it is not recommended. Bacteria in raw meat and poultry juices can be spread to other foods, utensils and surfaces. We call this cross-contamination.

Start with a hot pan over mediumhigh heat and a small amount of cooking oil. Season the chicken and add it to the pan. Let the meat sear for several minutes on one side before flipping. A chicken cutlet is ready to flip when it releases easily from the pan and has a nice, golden-brown sear.