Easy Slow-Cooker BBQ Chicken (Fall-Off-The-Bone!)
Make delicious and Easy Slow-Cooker BBQ Chicken! This recipe features tender chicken leg quarters slow-cooked in a homemade sweet and tangy barbecue sauce that’s then thickened for serving.
Ingredients
(Original recipe doesn’t specify yield, but 6 leg quarters will serve 6-12 depending on appetite)
Slow-Cooker BBQ Chicken:
- ▢ 6 chicken leg quarters (about 4-5 pounds total), skin removed, separated into drumsticks and thighs
- ▢ ¾ cup ketchup
- ▢ ½ cup orange juice
- ▢ ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- ▢ ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ▢ ¼ cup olive oil
- ▢ 4 teaspoons minced fresh parsley
- ▢ 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- ▢ ½ teaspoon pepper
For the Serving Sauce:
- ▢ Reserved cooking juices (approx. 2 cups after skimming)
- ▢ 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch (almost 3 tbsp)
- ▢ ¼ cup cold water
Instructions
1. Prepare the Chicken:
- If not already done, remove the skin from the chicken leg quarters.
- Using a sharp knife, cut through the joint of each leg quarter to separate it into one drumstick and one thigh piece. You should have 12 pieces total.
- Place the chicken pieces into a 4-quart slow cooker (or a 5-6 qt if that’s what you have).
2. Make the Barbecue Sauce and Add to Slow Cooker:
- In a small or medium mixing bowl, combine the ketchup, orange juice, packed brown sugar, red wine vinegar, olive oil, minced fresh parsley, Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, and pepper.
- Whisk or stir these ingredients together until well combined and the sugar is mostly dissolved.
- Pour this prepared barbecue sauce mixture evenly over the chicken pieces in the slow cooker. Turn the chicken pieces gently to ensure they are coated with the sauce.
3. Slow Cook the Chicken:
- Cover the slow cooker securely with its lid.
- Cook on the LOW setting for 5-6 hours, or until the chicken meat is very tender and cooked through (internal temperature should reach 165°F/74°C in the thickest part, near the bone).
4. Prepare the Serving Sauce:
- Once the chicken is fall-off-the-bone tender, carefully remove the chicken pieces from the slow cooker using tongs and transfer them to a serving platter. Keep the chicken warm (e.g., loosely tented with foil).
- Let the cooking juices remaining in the slow cooker sit for a few minutes to allow the fat to rise to the surface. Carefully skim off as much visible fat as possible using a fat separator or a large, shallow spoon.
- Pour the skimmed cooking juices into a measuring cup. You should aim to have about 2 cups of liquid. If you have significantly more, you can simmer it down a bit first in a saucepan before proceeding. If less, you can add a little chicken broth or water.
- Transfer the measured 2 cups of skimmed cooking juices to a small saucepan. Bring the juices to a boil over medium-high heat.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons of cornstarch and the ¼ cup of cold water until completely smooth, with no lumps (this is your slurry).
- Gradually pour the cornstarch slurry into the boiling cooking juices in the saucepan, whisking constantly.
- Continue to cook and stir (or whisk) until the sauce returns to a boil and has thickened to a nice gravy-like consistency, about 1-2 minutes.
5. Serve:
- Serve the tender Slow-Cooker BBQ Chicken hot.
- Drizzle the thickened barbecue sauce generously over the chicken pieces, or serve the sauce on the side for dipping.
- Garnish with extra fresh parsley, if desired. Enjoy!
Find it online: https://www.eatswithsoul.com/easy-slow-cooker-bbq-chicken/