Rustic Slow-Cooker Chicken

Rustic Slow Cooker Chicken


6 chicken thighs (skin-on, bone or boneless)
2 small yellow onions (halved and sliced about 1/4-inch thick)
2 garlic cloves (thinly sliced or minced)
ginger root (about 1 1/2 inches, peeled and thinly sliced or minced)
1 tsp sea or kosher salt (plus more to taste)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 cups water
1 Tbsp Olive or vegetable oil
1 Tbsp butter (unsalted)
Instructions
Pat dry chicken thighs with paper towels to remove surface moisture. Sprinkle with a little bit of salt on each side and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil and one tablespoon of butter in a large non-stick skillet over high heat. Add the chicken, skin side down, and cook for about 3-5 minutes, until deep golden brown. Remove from the pan and transfer to the slow cooker, placing the chicken pieces skin side up.

Add the onions, garlic and ginger to the same the skillet. There should be plenty of oil and fat left in the pan, but if not, add another tablespoon of oil or butter. Saute the vegetables until deep golden brown, constantly stirring, about 3-5 minutes (see note).

Add the water, salt and the pepper. Stir well and taste for salt. Adjust if necessary. The liquid should be salted just right. Very little liquid will evaporate during slow cooking under a lid so no need to under-salt.

Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 6 hours, or until the chicken is very tender.

Serve immediately, or set the slow cooker to ‘warm’ until ready to serve. 

Recipe Notes
Adding ginger and garlic immediately with the onions, not towards the end as is customary. The garlic will brown to dark brown color, which will add more color to the liquids in the slow cooker. This will also mellow out the strong garlic flavor and pungency, leaving very subtle flavor. However, be careful not to burn the garlic and ginger, you need to stir constantly and stop sauteing before that happens.

Yorkshire Pudding

Yorkshire Pudding


Ingredients

3 Large Eggs
1/2 Teaspoon Course Salt
1 1/2 Cups Whole Milk
1 1/3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/3 Cup Reserved Beef Drippings

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and salt until frothy. Whisk in milk, followed by flour, until well combined. Cover and refrigerate batter at least 4 hours, and up to overnight.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees with rack set in center of oven.

Add beef drippings to reserved pan from Standing Rib Roast and transfer to oven. Heat until hot and sizzling, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove batter from refrigerator and stir. Slide out roasting pan just enough to add batter all at once; batter should be very liquid and spread on its own without tilting. Bake for 12 minutes.

5 Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees; rotate pan and continue baking until pudding is puffy and nicely browned, about 15 minutes more. Cut into small squares and serve immediately.

Lambert Tip
We make this in muffin pans. Put a little beef juice in the bottom of the muffin cups, heat until sizzling and then add little globs of batter. Bake until done.

Wing Zzzingers

Wing Zzzingers

Ingredients

Sauce:
2 cups Red Hot hot sauce
2 cups brown sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar (Steve uses white vinegar with jalepeno peppers, onions, etc.)
Stick of butter
Combine ingredients and warm on st ove or in microwave, then put in spray bottle and set aside. 

Seasonings:
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic, minced
1/2 cup Italian seasoning
1/4 cup chili powder
1/4 cup paprika
2 tablespoons of red pepper (more or less to taste)

The above should be enough for 7 or 8 pounds of wings. Rinse and drain 7 to 8 pounds wings. Pour some of the Red Hot hot sauce over them, and toss. Add seasoning mixture (above) until generously coated. You will lose some in the cooking, so don’t skimp! Place the wings on a gas grill (or smoker) and slow cook them at a low temperature. After 20 minutes baste/mist with sprayer at least every 10 minutes. Flip them after you mist them. Total cooking time should be around 1 1/2 to 3 hours, depending on the heat of the grill. They’re done when they break at the joint or you can break the wing tip off.


Lambert Tip
The recipe can be modified so that the wings can be baked in the oven instead