East West Barbecued Chicken in the Crock Pot


I don't think of my crock pot for summer time meals. But after reading a few slow cooker recipes in the latest issue of Woman's Day magazine, I decided it was time to drag out the crock pot.

East West Barbecued Chicken is definitely going into our menu rotation for the warm summer months. The sweet and spicy chicken recipe is not as heavy as some typical slow cooker recipes for winter time stews and chilis. The oh-so-moist chicken is covered in a Asian style barbecue sauce that is highlighted with sweet onions.

As with most dinners around our house, we ate in shifts. My Middle One and I ate first and couldn't get enough of the onions. Our dinner was paired with a noodle salad which combined a half pound of cooked and drained linguine tossed with 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, a couple teaspoons of sesame oil, a tablespoon of rice wine vinegar, a cup each of steamed broccoli, green beans, and yellow pepper, and a few shakes of sesame seeds and red pepper flakes.

No Thank You Boy, his buddy Two Scoops, and My Oldest ate later in the evening and devoured the rest of the chicken. The boys were not big fans of the vegetables in the salad. They both said, "No thank you" when I asked if they wanted something green with their noodles. They added a few generous shakes of hot sauce to their chicken because they like living on the spicy side of life.

There were no leftovers from our dinner of East West Barbecued Chicken, and I will be making this many more times this summer.

East West Barbecued Chicken in the Crock Pot

Serves 4

2 medium onions, sliced, about 2 cups
2 chicken breasts, bone-in and skin on
5 chicken drumsticks, bone-in and skin on
1 cup spicy barbecue sauce such as Sweet Baby Ray's Sweet 'n Spicy
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4 garlic cloves, smashed
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
hot sauce, for serving

Place sliced onions in the crock pot and top with the chicken.

In a small bowl, combine the barbecue sauce, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and orange juice. Pour over the chicken.

Cover the crock pot and cook on high for 4 - 5 hours or low for 7 - 8 hours.

When the cooking time is complete, remove the chicken to a platter and tent with foil to keep warm. In a small pot over medium high heat, add 1 cup of the sauce from the crock pot. In a small bowl combine the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water. Stir into the sauce in the pot and cook for 3 - 5 minutes until it is thickened. Pour the thickened sauce back into the crock pot and stir to combine. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve with extra hot sauce if desired.

7 comments:

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

The crock pot is one of those tools that is going to keep the house cool in the summer so this is great!

Betsy Toland said...

I love that you've put something up for the crock pot - I don't use it much, but sometimes simply don't feel like cooking!
I'm wondering if it would be OK to use boneless, skinless chicken breast, as that's all that I generally use as far as chicken goes.
Thanks! And keep those great recipes coming!!
Betsy

amycaseycooks said...

I like to use chicken on the bone because I think it comes out more moist than the boneless chicken. But you can use boneless in this recipe. I would cook down the cooking times though - 3 - 4 hours on high or 5 - 6 on low.

Robin said...

I love my crockpot in the summer!! Keeps the BRK cool and so easy to have meals all ready to go. This one is a keeper!

Melynda@Scratch Made Food! said...

I had already bookmarked this to try, and was glad to see the update in the comments about reduced time if using boneless chicken (I will, always have on hand in the freezer). Thanks so much. My main problem with slow cooking is I over cook.

Angela in Texas said...

It's in the crock pot as I write...smells so good!

Angela from Alabama said...

This was absolutely delicious. It will definitely go into the "rotation!" I love the fact that it is a crock-pot recipe too. Also thanks for introducing me to Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce. It is yummy. Keep the recipes coming. I have loved every one of your recipes that I have tried . Thanks so much!