Kitchen Wise: Low and slow is the way to go with this Greek chicken dinner
This toothsome chicken dish makes its way into the world via a slow cooker, a kitchen device I've grown to love.
There are several reasons to like slow cookers, even beyond the wonderfulness of being able to toss ingredients into it, head to work and return to a fully cooked dinner in the evening. Thanks to that long, low-temp cooking, slow cookers also are great at reducing tougher cuts of meat to tender goodness. And because they are covered during cooking, moisture doesn't escape and the food stays particularly moist.
The utensil's one drawback (assuming you're using a traditional model) is that you can't brown your meat or vegetables in it. Newer models often have a saute mode, which is handy. But this isn't a deal breaker if you're making a dish that doesn't require browning, such as chicken soup or beans or fish stew. But it'd be nice to have that option when you're making a recipe that depends on browning to build flavor, such as a pot roast or braised lamb shanks.
The first time I prepared this Greek chicken dish, I hoped it would turn out to be one of those throw-the-ingredients-in-the-pot-and-walk-away-from-it-without-a-care-in-the-world miracles. Following the advice of several slow cooker cookbooks, I removed and discarded the chicken skin before cooking it. The theory was that it would end up rubbery and add too much fat to the dish as it cooked. I also added the onions raw, the garlic smashed, and the rosemary in stalks.
But that approach didn't work out as planned. The finished dish was lackluster and the chicken was dry.
So, back to the drawing board. This time I browned the key components, chicken, onions and garlic, in a skillet before adding them to the slow cooker. I also opted not to remove the skin from the chicken and to dip the chicken in flour before sauteing it. I discarded most of the fat that came out of the skin as it browned, but kept some of it because fat is a conductor of flavor. I reckoned that these two steps would do double-duty: amp the flavor and protect the chicken from drying out.
It worked!
It's worth noting, by the way, that the skin never became rubbery. It helped that it stuck up above the liquid as it cooked. Also, the chicken's flour coating helped to lightly thicken the sauce. Of course, if you're so inclined, you're welcome to remove the skin just before serving; it will have already done its job.
In the end, the first and final versions of this recipe were as different as night and day. As ever, it's all in the details.
• Sara Moulton is the host of public television's "Sara's Weeknight Meals." She was executive chef at Gourmet magazine for nearly 25 years and spent a decade hosting several Food Network shows.
Live." Her latest cookbook is "Home Cooking 101."
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press