Experience with wings - crispy?

[legend_018]

Anyone happen to have any experience with cooking chicken wings using the frozen chicken wings or drummettes in the crock pot?

Do they come out crispy at all? Or just soft and slimy "lol".

 

[Maverick2272]

A crockpot cooks low and slow, and needs to be filled at least 2/3 full with liquid and what you are cooking, so I don't see how they would ever come out crispy.

 

[letscook]

I have parboiled them first not for long-- just to give them a boost and then put them in the crock pot with BQ sauce and they came out great. The reason I parboiled first was for my own reason of security. I don't like the idea of putting chicken with bones in the crockpot at a slow temp as it will take longer to cook and the thought of chicken out in a slow and warm temp to me I am brewing bacteria. so I cook a lil first if they have bones in them. boneless i thow in as is. Just my lil phobia.

They won't be crispy with the sauce on them

 

[bowlingshirt]

Soft and slimey. Why do you want to cook wings in a crock-pot?

 

[blissful]

I usually bake mine until crispy, then for serving, I put the sauce in the crock pot and heat it up, and toss the wings in there. They stay crispy over the couple of hours for serving.

 

[mcnerd]

A crockpot cooks low and slow, and needs to be filled at least 2/3 full with liquid and what you are cooking,

Sorry, but I've never heard of such thing. A crockpot is moist cooking in a sealed pot and does not need to have any liquid added, let alone filling 2/3 full, since the food itself provides the liquid. Most often the liquid added is for flavoring, such as BBQ sauce.

My chicken wings get placed in the crockpot frozen with the sauce and spices. That's all. I guess "soft and slimy" is the word for cooked to fall-off-the-bone-perfection and covered with BBQ sauce.

If one wants dry wings you can use balls of aluminum foil on the bottom of the crockpot to keep the wings out of the liquid, and maybe use a dry rub to give you a roasted chicken wing.

A crockpot is our friend.

 

[jennyema]

Nothing cooked in a crockpot comes out crispy.

There's no reason to cook chicken wings in a crockpot. They cook very quickly -- cooking them for a long period in a crockpot will dry them out.

You can make very crispy, falling off the bone wings by baking them or frying them.

 

[BreezyCooking]

NOTHING comes out "crispy" from a crockpot. It's not supposed to.

 

[Maverick2272]

Sorry, but I've never heard of such thing. A crockpot is moist cooking in a sealed pot and does not need to have any liquid added, let alone filling 2/3 full, since the food itself provides the liquid. Most often the liquid added is for flavoring, such as BBQ sauce.

My chicken wings get placed in the crockpot frozen with the sauce and spices. That's all. I guess "soft and slimy" is the word for cooked to fall-off-the-bone-perfection and covered with BBQ sauce.

If one wants dry wings you can use balls of aluminum foil on the bottom of the crockpot to keep the wings out of the liquid, and maybe use a dry rub to give you a roasted chicken wing.

A crockpot is our friend.

It is in the directions for the crock pot. The crock pot does not create moisture or add to it, you have to have something in there to provide moisture. Having meat alone will not provide enough moisture. Too little content and you risk the pot getting too hot and cracking.
It was on page one of my manual, before they even got into explaining any of the settings or uses, and also under 'warranty' section.

 

[mcnerd]

I've just pulled out my crockpot instruction books and it doesn't say anything about filling the crockpot 2/3rds full of liquid. In fact, quite the opposite. It says "use less" in slow cooking. One cup of liquid is more than enough for any recipe unless it contains rice or pasta.

You can put one whole chicken in a crockpot with just a dry rub seasoning and no liquid at all and by the time it is done there is pot full of liquid, all from the chicken.

Roasts are cooked with a 1/2 cup of water or broth to start (recipe in the book). There is a recipe in the book for BBQ Ribs that uses NO water. Baking can even be done in your slow cooker.

I'm sorry you believe what you do about slow cookers. You are missing out in alot of the use and fun of using them.

 

[Maverick2272]

Not at all. Maybe I am not explaining it right, so here is the use and care guide for my Hamilton Beach slow cooker:

Tips for Slow Cooking
• The crock should be at least half-filled for best results. If only halffilled,
check for doneness 1 to 2 hours earlier than recipe.
• Stirring is not necessary when slow cooking and removing glass
lid results in major heat loss and the cooking time may need to
be extended. However, if cooking on High, you may want to stir
occasionally.
• If cooking soups or stews, leave a 2-inch (5 cm) space between
the top of the crock and the food so that the recipe can come to
a simmer.
• Many recipes call for cooking all day. If your morning schedule
doesn’t allow time to prepare a recipe, do it the night before.
Place all ingredients in crock, cover with lid and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, simply place crock in slow cooker.
• Do not use frozen, uncooked meat in slow cooker. Thaw any meat
or poultry before slow cooking.
• Some foods are not suited for extended cooking in a slow cooker.
Pasta, seafood, milk, cream, or sour cream should be added 2 hours
before serving. Evaporated milk or condensed soups are perfect for
slow cooking.
• The higher the fat content of meat, the less liquid is needed. If cooking
meat with a high fat content, place thick onion slices underneath so
meat will not sit on (and cook in) fat.
• Slow cookers allow for very little evaporation. If making your favorite
soup, stew, or sauce, reduce liquid called for in original recipe. If too
thick, liquid can be added later.
• If cooking a vegetable-type casserole, there will need to be liquid in
the recipe to prevent scorching on the sides of crock.
840174800 ENnv06.qxd 6/5/08 12:27 PM Page 7

As you can see the reference to being 2/3 full is because at 1/2 full or less it will cook faster and why use a slow cooker to cook faster??

DO NOT use frozen, uncooked meat in slow cooker. If your wings are precooked frozen then cool, otherwise not a good idea there.

The higher the fat content, the less liquid you need. This does not say NO liquid, only less liquid. Dry cooking in a slow cooker is not recommended and may crack the crock.

That came out weird... hey I cracked my crock dude! Anyway, I too have done whole chickens in my crock pot, and never dry. I put onions under it, then the rest of the veggies around it, then some chicken broth around that. With an entire bird in there with the skin on and fat intact, well it only takes a little liquid to do the trick.
Of course, for me it doesn't make sense to do a whole chicken in the crock pot if I want a roaster, so I only do this when I plan on pulling it all apart and using in other recipes like chicken soup.
But I don't think I have ever seen a slow cooker large enough that it would be less than 1/2 or 2/3 full with an entire bird in it.... big difference between that and some chicken wings.

 

[mcnerd]

Obviously we're not connecting in our conversation since your original statement which I was responding to was "A crockpot cooks low and slow, and needs to be filled at least 2/3 full with liquid and what you are cooking". That is not the same as what is being stated now.

Anyway, I'm sorry that your ceramic pot cracked. I've only seen that when the lid is left off and there is exposure to the lower room air temperature and the contents are totally dried out.

Anyway, I think the subject has been trod on enough.

 

[Maverick2272]

I was trying to say 2/3 full between the ingredients and the liquid, so it doesn't have to be 2/3 liquid, just that when everything is added they want it filled up to the 2/3 line.
But its cool, don't worry. There are plenty of things I still do that everyone tells me I shouldn't, and I am still here LOL!! Everyone's experiences are different, and that is what makes forums cool for me. I am always learning new things everyday.
And there could have been other factors in the crock cracking, that is just the one the manufacturer gave me after asking how I was using it, certainly not gospel but it has made me more cautious especially when dispensing advice (I don't want to give the wrong info and be responsible for a problem).
Rarely do I take my own advice, LOL, I am rather adventurous in my kitchen!

PS While I am thinking of it, do you have a recipe or guide on those chicken wings in BBQ sauce? I love BBQ'd chicken wings especially if they are fall off the bone tender, and crispy is not a requirement for me on them either!

 

[mcnerd]

PS While I am thinking of it, do you have a recipe or guide on those chicken wings in BBQ sauce? I love BBQ'd chicken wings especially if they are fall off the bone tender, and crispy is not a requirement for me on them either!

I'm not particular about any recipe (there are a ton of them on the internet if you search "crock pot wings") and I just toss the wings in the pot and add a bottle of BBQ sauce that I have on hand. After cooking on LOW for 5-6 hours (or even less if you don't want fall-off-the-bone meat), they are good to eat with a lot of napkins. Some people add grape jelly to add some sweetness to the sauce but I haven't tried that yet.

I do the same thing with chicken pieces, which I will pull apart with forks to have shredded BBQ Chicken for sandwiches.

 

[Maverick2272]

Oh OK, I thought there was something you had said you were doing first.
Yes I do that as well, drop a bunch of chicken wings in there, smother in BBQ sauce and yum! We also used to do meatballs in a BBQ/apricot preserve sauce that are yum.
And man I love pulled beef from the slow cooker!!!