Slow Cooker Grilled Honey Chicken

 

  This recipe is a variation of an old favorite recipe we used to make years and years ago. We made Honey Chicken for every graduation party, birthday party, and family event, and it was always a sure-fire hit. 

 So I was recently trying to come up with ideas for the slow cooker, and I remembered this recipe which was usually made in the oven. I thought, what if we make it in the slow cooker and then finish on the grill? That sounded pretty fabulous to me, so I went with it. 

 OH. MY. GOD. 

It turned out so much better than I even imagined it would! Who knew this would be such a win??? It was the perfect sweet and savory chicken, and it managed to hit all the right notes. 

 So if you're tired of the usual tomato based BBQ chicken, try this one for a little diversion. 

It's REALLY yummy! 

 

 

Chicken legs and/or thighs, bone in, skin on

1 cup honey

1 stick butter

1 tbs Roasted Chicken Better Than Bouillon 

 

Place chicken in your slow cooker. Melt together the remaining ingredients in the microwave. Stir until well combined. Pour half of the honey mixture over the chicken. Cook on low for 4-5 hours.

 Remove the chicken from the slow cooker, and place on a hot grill. Brush with remaining honey mixture. Grill them just for a couple minutes on each side, just until slightly charred. Done!

 

 

 

Tips;

If you're not cooking a lot of chicken, you can cut the sauce ingredients in half. Or you can just make the whole batch, and then keep any extra in the fridge until next time. 

When you're cooking chicken in the slow cooker, you don't want to let it go for too long. When using boneless chicken, 4 hours on low is the MAX you should be cooking it. In this case, since we're using bone in, you can let it got for a little longer, but definitely no longer than 5 hours.  

 

Joey's Low 'n' Slow Oven BBQ Chicken

 

 This is just about the easiest BBQ chicken you'll ever make. There. I said it. I'm not kidding! You do most of the cooking in the oven, and then you finish it off on the grill. Easy, right? The result is fall-off-the-bone tender chicken that will be the talk of any summer BBQ. I recently made it for a summer hang and everyone loved it! It's more about the method than anything else, and it's easy enough for the cooking novice. If you love BBQ chicken, you MUST try it. You might not ever cook it any another way!

You're welcome. :) 

 

 

 

Chicken legs and thighs, bone in, skin on

Salt and pepper 

Any favorite BBQ sauce 

 

 

Start by heating your oven to 250ºF. Line a sheet tray with heavy duty aluminum foil. 

 Now arrange the chicken to fit. Feel free to place them nice and snug next to each other. 

Season with salt and pepper. Cover tightly with more heavy duty aluminum foil, making sure to seal around the edges of the tray. 

Place in the oven for 4 hours. Yes, FOUR HOURS. 

Remove from oven.

You can do this much in advance. Just leave the tray covered with foil and let it cool slightly, then keep in in the fridge until your event. 

When you're ready to grill, remove it from the fridge, and remove the foil.  Place the chicken pieces on your hot grill, then brush with BBQ sauce. Close the lid and let it grill for about 15 minutes, until it's slightly charred here and there. Brush with more BBQ sauce and serve. 

Be sure to have plenty of napkins at the ready!

 

 

Tips:

That's not a typo. Yes, the oven temp is meant to be 250º, not 350º. That would be the low part of Low 'n' Slow!

Wanna spice things up? Add any kind of spice you like along with the salt and pepper.  

 Use whichever BBQ sauce you like or your own home made. I like legs and thighs, but you can use breasts as well. I wouldn't do boneless chicken in this case because it would probably overcook. Or at least I imagine it will!

 

 

Joey's Orange BBQ Chicken

 Many years ago, my family was obsessed with a specific chicken recipe called Honey Chicken. We had it for EVERY big family event, and everyone always loved it. It was also super easy to make... bake it low and slow in the oven for an hour, and then baste it with sauce for another hour..... the chicken always turned out perfectly tender and delicious. Well, ever since then, I always wondered if I could do the same cooking method, but use a different sauce....
  My first thought was to do a BBQ sauce, but that's kinda boring. Anyone can open a bottle of BBQ sauce and pour it over some chicken. Still, it seemed like I was on the right track. Hmmm.. I'll mentally set it on the back burner, and maybe one of these days something will inspire me.
And then one night, I ordered Chinese take out orange chicken. Inspiration strikes! This was my ah ha moment! As I was eating my dinner that night, I thought THIS is how I want my oven BBQ chicken to go! Great! Now it's time to come up with an orange sauce.
  I knew I wanted it to be sweet, sticky, salty, savory, and spicy.  So I stirred together a few Asian-inspired ingredients, and this is where I landed. The orange flavor definitely comes through, and so does the slight heat from the fresh ginger and the crushed red pepper flakes. Perfect! And, once again, the chicken turned out every bit as tender as it was when we made the honey chicken, just as I had hoped it would be.
 If you're looking for a different BBQ experience, you should give this one a try. I'm so pleased with how it turned out. Also, you should keep lots of napkins at the ready! Just sayin'!



4 chicken legs, bone-in and skin on
4 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin on
salt and pepper
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbs lemon juice
3 tbs butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs grated fresh ginger
pinch crushed red pepper flakes

sesame seeds or sliced scallions for garnish (optional)



Heat oven to 300ºF.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Place chicken pieces on tray, leaving space between them. Pat chicken pieces dry with paper towels. Season well with salt and pepper. Place tray in oven for 1 hour. Now it's time to make the sauce.
In a small sauce pot, combine remaining ingredients. Bring to a low simmer over low-mediumn heat. Let the sauce reduce until syrupy, stirring often so that it doesn't burn. Remove from heat and set aside until you're ready to use it.
Brush the chicken pieces with the sauce until they're well coated. Place the chicken back in oven for another hour, periodically brushing with more sauce. At this point, you could place them under the broiler for a little char, or finish them off on the grill, but it's really not necessary. Remove chicken from oven and top with sliced scallions or sesame seeds, if desired.



Tips:
Taste the sauce to make sure it's what you want. Is it sweet enough? Add more honey or even some brown sugar. Salty enough? Add another splash of soy sauce. Is it bright enough? Add more lemon juice or some grated orange zest. Can you taste the ginger and garlic? Feel free to adjust it to how you like it!
If your sauce becomes too thick, you can thin it down with a tablespoon or two of orange juice.
I like to use the bone-in chicken with the skin still on. It gets nice and crispy and it keeps the chicken moist. With this method, you definitely don't want to use boneless chicken breasts. They just don't need that long to cook and will come out dry and overdone. If you'd still like to use boneless chicken, then just grill the chicken and brush with sauce as you normally would, instead of the low and slow method.

Chicken Tikka Masala

 In honor of the summer Olympics in London, I decided to do a little research to find out what England's national dish is. Well, there seems to be a lot of different opinions about this subject. Many people think of a Sunday Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding as the national dish. Others think of Fish and Chips or Bangers and Mash (which is sausages and mashed potatoes). A survey in the United Kingdom concluded that Chicken Tikka Masala is the country's most popular restaurant dish, claiming it as one in every seven curries sold in the UK. The cross-cultural popularity of the dish in the UK led former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook to proclaim it as "a true British national dish". So there you have it. For me, it's still definitely an Indian dish (which is where the dish originated), but who am I to argue?
 I guess it really doesn't matter. The bottom line is that it's easy and delicious! Everyone LOVED it when I made it for my family's Opening Ceremonies party at my Jeanie's house. SO delicious!! This recipe is from Aarti Sequeira. It's simple and quick, warm and comforting and you should definitely try it!

 Marinade:
1 cup plain yogurt, whisked until smooth  
1 tbs fresh ginger, grated
3 cloves garlic, put through a garlic press or finely minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into large bite-size chunks

Sauce:
3 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
2-inch thumb ginger, peeled and minced
2 serrano peppers, minced (seeds removed if you don't want it spicy)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garam masala
8 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups water
1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves, optional
1/2 cup heavy cream
Fresh cilantro leaves, minced
Cooked rice, warm naan bread or crusty bread.

For the marinade:

In large bowl, mix the yogurt, ginger, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Poke chicken with a fork, then add to marinade. Fold to cover and marinate at least 30 minutes, at most refrigerated overnight.

For the sauce:
Place a large skillet over medium heat, and add the butter and olive oil. When butter has melted, add the garlic, ginger, and serrano pepper. Saute until lightly browned around the edges.
Add the tomato paste and cook until the tomato has darkened in color, about 3 minutes. Add the paprika and garam masala, and saute for about 1 minute.
Add the tomatoes, salt, and water. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer, and cover. Cook for 20 minutes. Take the pan off the fire, and allow the sauce to cool for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, fire up your broiler, and cover your broiler pan in foil. Pull the chicken thigh chunks out of the marinade and place on the sheet. Place under the broiler, and cook about 7 minutes on each side, until charred and cooked through. Cook's Note: Don't worry if the chicken is still a little uncooked, but very charred on the outside; you can finish cooking the chicken in the sauce.
Pour sauce into a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Pour back into the pan, and bring back up to a boil. Add the chicken and fenugreek leaves, if using. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook, covered, for about 10 minutes.
Add cream and stir through. Garnish with minced fresh cilantro if you like, and serve over rice, with naan or a crusty piece of bread!

Joey's Tips:
It seems to me that people either LOVE cilantro or they hate it. (I've heard many people say that, to them, it tastes like soap! Crazy, huh?) For me, I like it, but a little goes a long way. If you're not a fan, just substitute fresh parsley, or simply omit it entirely.
 I didn't have fresh tomatoes on hand, so I just used canned crushed tomatoes. It worked beautifully!

If you don't want to broil the chicken, you can easily grill it on your outside grill. Just make sure you get a nice black char on it.
Instead of transferring everything to a blender or food processor, I just used an immersion blender, and pureed the sauce right in the pot. It made life so much easier!!!
If you'd like to add some heat, then by all means, make it as hot as you dare! Just add some diced chilis, as much as you like!

Katie Franny BBQ Sauce

My sister, Cathy, has been making this BBQ Sauce for years. Reen's husband Billy has always been a fan of it. He calls her "Katie Franny"(since her name is Cathy Francis), but the funny thing is that's what he calls the BBQ sauce too, as in "Pass me the Katie Franny" or "Will you pour some more Katie Franny on my burger?".
He cracks me up.
Anyway, I'm thrilled that she passed the recipe along to me and now I get to share it with you! So here ya go. Have some Katie Franny!


Hey Joe,
I gave someone my recipe for BBQ sauce today, and I thought I'd send it along to you while I was at it. It's my family's favorite BBQ sauce recipe (apologies to Marshy's!), and I must say I do enjoy it too. It's a little sweeter than some of the more smoky-flavored ones, which is ok by me, because I don't like a heavy smoky taste. Besides using it on grilled stuff, it's also great as the sauce for BBQ Pulled Pork, which I often make in my crock pot. You just make your pulled pork like usual, and after "pulling" the pork, add the BBQ sauce at the end. Yum!
The Katie Franny thing just started from Billy being his usual goofy self. He first called it Katie Franny BBQ Sauce, and then at some point announced that he was going to shorten the name to Katie Franny, and that was that.
The rest is history...

:)
TTFN.
C.


2 tbsp. butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf, crumpled
2 cups ketchup
6 oz. Cola
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. Dijon or spicy brown mustard
2 tsp. cider vinegar (I've also used red wine or white wine vinegar, and regular white vinegar - no prob)
Salt & pepper

Saute onions and garlic in butter until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer over low heat 45 minutes to an hour, until thickened and yummy.

Enjoy!

Cathy's Tip:
DOUBLE this recipe every time you make it. It keeps for a long time in the fridge. And, besides, what are you gonna do with the other half can of Coke anyway?

Cathy's Grilled Chicken Marinade

Here's another awesome recipe from my fabulous, gorgeous, talented, youthful, vibrant, funny, caring and all-around wonderful sister, Cathy
Thanx Cath!

Joe,
Here's my chicken marinade. It doesn't have a name. And it just sort of evolved from trying different combinations of things I had in the pantry. Anyway, here's what I finally came up with, and I must say, it's tasty.
C.


Large package boneless chicken breasts

Whisk together the following:
1/4 cup Kraft Zesty Italian dressing (or whatever Italian dressing you like)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. Montreal Steak seasoning
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. soy sauce (low sodium)
Optional: a couple of splashes of orange juice

Either pound chicken pieces to flatten them out a bit, or cut them cross-wise so they are half as thick. Pour marinade over chicken (either in a shallow dish or in a ziploc bag) and let sit in fridge for as long as you can. Overnight is great, but a couple of hours is fine, and even 1/2 to 1 hour will work, although chicken won't be quite as flavorful.

Remove chicken from marinade (discard marinade) and grill chicken pieces on outdoor grill or inside on a good grill pan. Serve with your favorite side dishes.

Note: This is also really good cold, sliced into strips & served in your favorite pasta salad.

Tip:
Goes great with Roasted Asparagus and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes, as shown in the picture.

How to Roast Peppers

If you've never roasted your own peppers, you seriously don't know what you're missing. They have a wonderful smokey flavor that you just don't get when you buy them at the grocery store. Not only that, store bought roasted peppers cost you an arm and a leg for a measly little jar. You definitely get more bang for your buck if you roast them at home. So, better flavor, more economical.....seems like a no brainer to me! Not only that it's quick and easy to do. Basically, you just char the outsides of the peppers, put them in an airtight container to steam for about 20-30 minutes and then the skins come right off. Serve them on some Italian bread with lots of garlic and olive oil, and that's all there is to it! They're so much better than the ones you buy in a jar. Try it! You'll be SO glad that you did because it's better when you make it!

BIG thanx, once again, to Trish and also Alana for making this video possible.
And thanx to Denny for supplying the peppers!

Easy Grilled Potato & Onion Bundles

This is one of those old stand by recipes that everyone makes at barbecues and it's always been one of my favorites. You could do them in the oven instead of on the grill, but who wants to deal with an oven on a hot summer day? Clearly, the grill is the way to go. Happy grilling!

large baking potatoes
large onions
butter
salt
pepper
fresh herbs (optional)

Wash potatoes and pat them dry, leaving skins on. Slice each potato into 6 or 7 slices (depending on the size and length of the potato), but keep all the slices together. Peel onion and slice into thick slices. Cut each onion slice in half. Place a sliced potato in the center of a large piece of heavy duty aluminum foil. Separate slices and put a half slice of onion between each potato slice. Top with salt, pepper, (fresh herbs if using), and a pat of butter. Wrap foil up around it and pinch foil edges together to form a little bundle, making sure to seal it. Place each bundle on grill for about an hour or until tender. Serve with a big dollop of sour cream.

Tips:
You can vary this as much as you want. Add garlic or fresh herbs like fresh dill or rosemary, or other spices like seasoned salts or peppers.
Unfortunately, there's no exact cooking time. Grilling temperatures, wind, and other weather conditions will affect your cooking time, so the best way to check them is to just open one of them. Since potatoes are different sizes, I'd open the largest one. If the largest one is tender, then you know the smaller ones will be tender as well. If you're baking these in the oven, figure about an hour at 350 degrees or about 45 minutes at 400 degrees. Keep that in mind when you're figuring your cooking times for the grill.

Marinated Salmon

Mary Lynn emailed me the other day to see if I had any ideas about cooking salmon. She was looking to marinate it in something. So I did some browsing and found a recipe that looked delicious. I changed it slightly and I'm thrilled with the result!
Hope you like it, ML!

1/4 cup white wine
2 tbsp. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 c. soy sauce
3 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. grated ginger root
salmon steaks, about 1 1/2 inches thick


Mix all marinade ingredients together.
Marinate salmon for several hours or overnight.
Grill or broil for about 10 minutes on each side.
Serve it over rice with some Roasted Asparagus and you're good to go!

Tip:
Be sure to adjust cooking time depending on the thickness of your salmon steaks.

Shish Kabab Marinade

This marinade is fabulous on anything you can grill. London broil, chicken, seafood, veggies, portobello mushrooms, ALL delicious! Yes, of course, it's great on shish kabobs too. My fabulous, gorgeous, talented, youthful, vibrant, funny, caring and all-around wonderful sister, Cathy, gave me this recipe. I'm not sure where she got it, but like I always say, since she gave it to me, she gets the credit!

Btw, not only is it awesome on th3 grill, but also try it on baked foods as well! Marinate some boneless chicken overnight, then place it on a tray and bake at 350 until it's cooked through. Be sure to keep a little extra aside from the raw meat so you can drizzle a little extra over the top when serving. SO good!

Thanx, Sister!

1 8oz bottle of Wishbone Regular Italian dressing
2 tbs. brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce

Whisk all ingredients together and use it to marinate whatever you'd like to cook, especially if you're cooking on the grill!

That's all there is to it! Love it!

Tip:
The key to this recipe is the Italian dressing. It MUST be Wishbone brand and it MUST be REGULAR Italian. Not lite, not zesty, not robusto, just REGULAR Wishbone Italian dressing. If you use something else, you'll get an entirely different result. And by the way, if you like to order Chinese food and you have a million packets of soy sauce leftover, 7 packets = 1/4 cup. I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'!