Slow cookers are great at cooking chicken dishes. You will find slow-cooked chicken to be tender, succulent and melt-in-the-mouth delicious.
The most common recipes for chicken involve the chicken breast. The breast is considered to be the healthiest part of the chicken because it has the least amount of fat content.
I think chicken legs are far tastier and flavoursome than the breast. We often have roast chicken for dinner at the weekend, and I am the only one who eats the leg. I really think everyone else is missing out!
Chicken legs are more than just tasty, they are a great money-saving food too. They are far cheaper to buy than the breast, which makes them very budget-friendly.
Related reading:
- Keeping Cooked Chicken Warm β Succulent Chicken Secrets
- How To Keep Turkey Warm Without Drying It Out
- How To Reheat Chicken Breast Without Drying It Out (succulent chicken secrets)
How to cook chicken leg quarters in a slow cooker or crock pot
1. Remove the skin
Firstly you might want to remove the skin on your chicken legs. This isn’t necessarily required but it makes for a healthier dish overall because the fat under the skin won’t then leech into the dish.
You can do this by pulling the skin down to the bottom of the leg and then twisting it off with a kitchen towel.
2. Brown the chicken leg quarters in a pan
Slow cookers don’t brown meat naturally. Whichever dish you choose to make with your chicken it will most probably involve browning the meat in a frying pan first, then transferring it to the slow cooker along with any additional ingredients.
Heat a pan with some oil or butter and add the chicken legs a few at a time and fry until they brown on all sides.
3. Transfer to the slow cooker
When your chicken is nicely browned transfer it to your slow-cooker and add your extra ingredients.
How long to cook chicken leg quarters in slow cooker
Slow cookers and crockpots usually only have just two settings, low or high. On both settings, you can cook just about any dish. On the low setting, you will want to cook your chicken dish for at least 6 hours. On the high setting, it will cook in 3 hours.
Cooking your dish for longer on the low setting will make the meat more tender.
When cooked, use your crockpot’s warm setting to keep your dish warm until you are ready to eat it.
Can you cook frozen chicken in a slow cooker?
It is recommended that you always defrost everything you put into a slow-cooker, especially meat. This is because the meat will be held for too long in what is known as the βdanger zone’ for food. This is the temperature at which bacteria are more likely to grow and potentially cause food poisoning. So always defrost your ingredients thoroughly first.
How to know your chicken is cooked
You can check your chicken leg quarters are cooked properly by pricking them with a skewer. If the juices run clear your chicken is cooked. You can also use a meat thermometer to check that your chicken is at least 175f or 79c.
Related post:
How To Defrost a Whole Chicken Fast!
5 recipes with chicken leg quarters to cook in your slow cooker
Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore β Yummly
A classic dish, also known as Hunter’s chicken. Usually, you will find this dish made with chicken thighs but this one is made with the leg, plus it is made with white wine rather than the classic red wine.
Easy 5 Ingredient Crockpot Chicken Legs β BlessThisMess
A flavour-packed recipe made with just 5 ingredients.
Chicken Leg Quarters In The Crockpot β Brianna Thomas
Just a few different seasonings and some hot sauce make these chicken legs delicious.
Chicken Leg Quarters in the Crock Pot β The Speedy Spatuala
I can’t wait to try these, they look so easy and delicious. The chicken cooks in the barbeque sauce and brown up naturally so there is no need to pan fry.
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs β PlatterTalk
Again this is a one-pot recipe with no need to brown first. Honey, garlic and soy sauce are the main flavours. Great if you love eastern flavours.