The Best Slow-Cooker Chicken and Vegetables

I won’t be slow-cooking for awhile, as I’m in Peru for two months (where I am not bringing my slow-cooker…), but it got cold in Montreal this month before I left and I needed some comfort food. And there was no way I was going to marinate turkey for 3 hours and then toss out the 1/2 cup of salt and 8 cups of water in the turkey brine for Josée di Stasio’s roasted turkey breast with grapefruit. If you’re brining for 2 days or so, maybe it’s not the best ideas to toss a different raw meat into the brine, as all that bacteria isn’t what you want to be helping procreate. But since the turkey breast was only in there for 3 hours and I had 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs just begging to be seasoned and tenderized, I just tossed them in. Without the brine, they still would have been great in this recipe, but the brine is addictive. Well, salt and sugar are addictive.

If you don’t feel like making the brine and waiting around at least 3 hours, just sprinkle the chicken thighs with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper and sear in 1 tbsp oil before adding to the slow cooker and topping with peeled vegetables and 1/4 cup of water and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8-10.

Seriously. That’s all you have to do. And it’ll be great. You can even skip the searing step, but then the recipe is really bare bones and you’re denying yourself a wonderful chicken texture in favour of mushy, soft monotonous – though still satisfying and tasty – food. As my mother would say, “Any idiot could do it.” Well, mom, any idiot with a slow-cooker could do it. If you do this in a pot it won’t be nearly as good. And if you do this with tasteless chicken breast from the grocery store it’ll be especially bland and you’ll be up in arms, crying:

“MissWattson! What a horrible recipe. Have you no tastebuds??” That’s exactly what you’ll say.

And I’ll say, “Buy chicken thigh from a respectable butcher – Belanger et fils in Atwater is my go-to, but the Mennonite chicken at Whitehorse Meats in St. Lawrence market in Toronto is stellar, and Mile End’s La Cantina and the Portuguese place up there both have good options – and buy a slow-cooker. And be patient. That last one is the tricky part.”

…to which you should reply, “Ah. I see.”

The Best Slow-Cooker Chicken and Vegetables

Brine:
8 cups cold water
1/2 cup salt
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp crushed black peppercorns
2 cloves garlic, crushed

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or as many as you want as will fit in the slow-cooker)
4-6 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced (or as many as you want as will fit in the slow-cooker)
6-8 medium carrots, peeled and sliced (or as many as you…)
1/4 cup water (no need to use broth since the chicken will make its own broth anyway, and there’s plenty of salt and seasonings in the brine, which also leaches into the cooking juices)

Directions:

1. Combine the brine ingredients in a large pot and stir until the salt and sugar dissolve. Add the chicken, stir to coat and marinate at least 3 hours (up to overnight) in the fridge.

2. Remove chicken from brine and pat dry. Heat 1 tbsp oil over medium-high heat and add chicken in batches. Sear 2 minutes on each side and then transfer to slow-cooker. The meat has to go in first so it cooks evenly and is closer to the heat source.

3. Either add potatoes and carrots cut in chunks (whatever size chunk you want. It really doesn’t matter) to the skillet or directly to the slow-cooker. Sauté 1 minute and scrape any cooked chicken bits stuck to the skillet. These will add flavour. Add 1/4 cup water to the skillet and scrape off any remaining bits. Transfer entire contents of skillet to the slow-cooker. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8-10 (usually 4 or 8 is enough, but if your chicken was very large or your vegetable chunks particularly big or uneven, you may need a little extra time. Although, the longer you brine the chicken, the quicker it will cook, I believe. To a certain extent, of course. Don’t leave it in the brine for more than 2 days). To check to make sure the chicken’s done if you’re scared, use a meat thermometre. Some sources say 165.2 F is a safe temperature (74 C).

When I made this dish I ate all the carrots right away and loved the potatoes, because slow-cooked carrots and potatoes have an incredible flavour they just don’t have when cooked in less time at higher temperatures. The salt in the brine and water also helped, of course, but err on the side of cooking too many vegetables. The next day I threw some of the cooking liquid back into the slow-cooker and added another 6 carrots and 4 potatoes and cooked those on low for 8 hours. That’s why I say above to add as many vegetables as will fit. They go fast.