Crock pot chicken

[Crock Pot]

Hi...

I love beef recipes in crock pots. My chicken is always dry and bready. After reading through a thread on this topic, I am still trying to clarify the reason(s) why. It seems to boil down to this generalization....

boneless, skinless turn out terrible
bone-in, skinless pretty good
bone-in, with skin great and tender mmm

The more liquid, the better.

Thoughts? I appreciate it.

 

[DramaQueen]

I have never understood why some people put boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a crockpot to cook for 6 to 8 hours. Chicken breasts contain no fat and are not meant to be slow cooked or cooked to death. and dried beyond belief. They saute very quickly and anything over just done is overkill. I put thighs and drumsticks in my crockpot and beef or pork that is a tough, fibrous cut and it comes out beautifully done and falling off the bone. You can cook chicken breasts in your oven in less than 30 minutes. Why use the crockpot?

 

[Robo410]

Not fond of crock pot cooking myself. Can make a decent chili. Reasonable for stews with tough cuts, and we don't get old tough stewing chickens anymore. But chicken on the bone will have more flavor and hold up better under such conditions.

 

[jennyema]

I agree with DQ. A crockpot is a very poor way to cook boneless skinless chicken, esp. breast meat.

Cooking any meat too long, even in a crockpot will dry it out. That's basic physics.

 

[*amy*]

Hi...

I love beef recipes in crock pots. My chicken is always dry and bready. After reading through a thread on this topic, I am still trying to clarify the reason(s) why. It seems to boil down to this generalization....

boneless, skinless turn out terrible
bone-in, skinless pretty good
bone-in, with skin great and tender mmm

The more liquid, the better.

Thoughts? I appreciate it.

Hi CP. First, I would not put breaded chicken in a CP. I almost always cook with boneless, skinless chicken breasts. More liquid is not better (imo), and overcooking will make the breasts/chicken dry. Do trim away any fat, as that will increase the heat (cook faster). Your model & size makes a dif - newer cps get hotter faster. Check your manual. If you are only cooking a few breasts & you don't have enough ingreds to fill up the pot (veggies etc), you're probably going to have rubber chicken. Play around with your cp, but again read the manual. I think most people tend to dump and run. A cp has it's advantages, but like any cooking appliance, needs some getting used to/familar with. Hope that helps.

 

[skilletlicker]

Hi...

I love beef recipes in crock pots. My chicken is always dry and bready. After reading through a thread on this topic, I am still trying to clarify the reason(s) why. It seems to boil down to this generalization....

boneless, skinless turn out terrible
bone-in, skinless pretty good
bone-in, with skin great and tender mmm

The more liquid, the better.

Thoughts? I appreciate it.

Since you have only asked for thoughts and not necessarily expert advice, here's my two, no three, cents.

1. Bone in is better for crock pots because the bones improve the flavor of the cooking liquid.
2. Dark meat is better for crock pots because it is more forgiving of over-cooking than white meat.
3. Low is better than high. You need the chicken to get to 165F but you'd like to keep it from going TOO much above that. Simmering at 180 or so does a lot less damage than boiling at 212.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[skilletlicker]

Fourth cent: If you're home while the chicken is crock potting you could remove the breast meat from the bone after simmering 20 or 30 minutes, store in the ice box, and return to the broth to heat just before serving.