Slow cooking works particularly well with the pasture raised chicken we sell, this is because they live up to three times older than a fast grown commercial chicken, so the meat can take slightly longer to break down in the cooking process. You can then enjoy the benefits of the deeper flavour Ruxstons chicken offers without the potentially stressful roasting process.
Slow Cooked Chicken Recipe
Rice Vinegar
Garlic Bulbs
Chipotle Sauce
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How to slow cook chicken legs?
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Firstly to note, if your slow cooker isn't big enough to accommodate a pair of huge chicken legs, cut them at the joint into their respective drumsticks and thighs.
Place the chicken joints in the slow cooker and drizzle on some of the rice vinegar, we used some from Clearspring who we like, as it is all organic and very authentic.
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Chop up several garlic bulbs up and then add several generous lashings of chipotle sauce, finishing with a drizzle of honey.
Turn onto a medium setting and cook for 4-5 hours.
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Slow cooking chicken thighs and drumsticks is not at all like slow cooking beef or lamb, the flavour will spread evenly throughout the meat, and it will get much more tender after the long slow cook. It is a very stress-free way of cooking chicken and there will be no need to try and time it to perfection.
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What are the benefits of cooking chicken in a slow cooker?
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The chicken will cook evenly. No needing to worry about what shelf it is on or getting a probe in the middle when it has been in there for four hours it will be tender, juicy and tasty.
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There is also another key benefit of cooking chicken in a slow cooker, the chicken will have extra time to absorb the flavours that it is cooking with. Using our recipe as an example, the garlic just slowly melts into the chicken and really creates a wonderful flavour, traditional roasted chicken will not have the time to absorb all of the flavours so effectively.
Lastly, muscles that work harder are typically tougher, for example a beef fillet is the most tender part of a beef cow and it has worked the least, the shin works very hard and is typically tougher so will require a marinade or slow cooking. With the case of chicken, the drumsticks or thighs are harder working areas so benefit from slow cooking which gives the meat time to break down.
Using the chicken legs turns what is usually considered a cheaper cut, into something special, and it is often the "cheaper" cuts that can actually pack a great taste that is often missed due to the inconvenience of cooking them.