Beer Crockpot chicken

Your requests have been heard and so today I will be writing about a super quick entree (10 minutes hands on?) that was pretty darn tasty. As a prelude, I do not like to drink beer, nor do I know very much about it because I don't like to drink it, but Matt lets me smell his beers so I have an idea of what the components are. Yes I know its strange that I stick my nose in his beer glass to get a big whiff as if it were a fine wine, but you'd be amazed by the spectrum of smells that come from different beers. Just don't sniff too close or you may get some froth on the tip of your nose... Not that I'd know that from personal experience. I know some are light colored, some are dark colored and some smell much better than others. I know that adding dark beer (specifically Guinness) to your stew is an excellent addition, and these types are a favorite of Sous Chef Matt. I also know that my current lab-mates prefer lighter hopier beers so to appease everyone, I bought a mix pack of beers from a lovely Colorado brewery and had some left overs. This was the sole criteria for choosing the beer I did for this recipe. It was left-over. So that being said I am sure any sort of Lager or Ale would be perfect in this recipe. I would not go for a stout because I think it would dominate the chicken like a draft horse at a pony pull (if you've never seen a pony pull, you should, they're great fun! Imagine great large men handling itty bitty ponies like they are massive Clydesdales).

Here is the original recipe:
http://www.mydailydish.com/2010/01/beer-crockpot-chicken.html

They suggest using chicken breasts or a whole cut up chicken. I used what I had on hand, frozen chicken thighs. But I do recommend using boneless skinless chicken breasts if you have them, for a healthier alternative. Just be aware they may have a different texture. Using the dark meat adds a bit more flavor and I remove the skin before eating the meat and skim off the fat from the gravy. Next, they used basil and I preferred oregano after smelling the beer. And lastly, I didn't have paprika so I left it out, though I think it would have been an excellent addition.

So here is my take on this delicious recipe (served over multi-grain rice with a salad on the side):

Ingredients: 

6 Chicken thighs (Frozen)
1 Bottle of beer (I used Avalanche amber ale)
Garlic Powder
Oregano
Black Pepper
Pink Himalayan Sea Salt (Or any Sea salt or Kosher salt you have, just not Iodized)
 
*You can substitute or leave out any spices you like except the salt & pepper


Put the chicken in the crock pot and pour the beer over it.

Season the chicken with spices

These are the spices I used, can you tell I like Trader Joes? The ale is light enough you could do a lot of different seasonings for this. For example: Cilantro and Cumin, BBQ sauce, Basil and paprika, etc.

Yea! Chicken sprinkled with seasoning!

If the chicken is frozen cook on high 4-5 hours or low 8-10 hours, if you are using fresh chicken cook on high 3-4 hrs or low 7-8 hours

OPTIONAL- Will add 15 more minutes: After it is cooked, strain the juices into a  gravy separator, allow to separate (5 minutes) and carefully pour into a pan making sure not to let the oil on the top flow in. In a separate bowl add 1.5 TBS of cornstarch to 3 TBS of water, whisk and add to the juices.
Whisk the mix until it thickens into a nice gravy.
Sadly I did not photograph this one! Sorry! I did take photos of doing something similar in my next recipe, so I'll just post the picture of the gravy separator. If you don't own one of these, they are FANTASTIC and cheap! ($6-$9+)

Here is the link to the one I have, but you can get them cheaper or fancier and more expensive if you like:
http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-3024-4-Cup-Separator-Strainer/dp/B0000VLXYG

Here is a preview of the next meal too, so you can see the gravy separator in action

This meal didn't have a lot of grease so there is only a small layer on the top, but notice how the pour spout comes off the bottom? This is so you can get all the good stuff and not the fat! SOOO AWESOME!

Hope ya'll enjoy this one! It was easy and quick. You can serve it with potatoes on the side or steamed veggies. It would be especially good with carrots or green beans on the side, and you could drizzle some of the gravy on top! Or do like we did and serve it on a bed or rice with a nice salad on the side.
Happy Eating!