2019-08-01 Cook\'s Country

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 • COOK’S COUNTRY 29

SLOW COOKER

WHEN I FIRST set out to develop a

recipe for slow-cooker lemon chicken,

I thought there’d be nothing to it.

What could be simpler? Toss some

chicken thighs into the cooker—dark

meat is the perfect match for this

style of low-and-slow cooking—with

some chicken broth and lemon juice

and come back a few hours later to a

rich, vibrant meal of tender, lemony

chicken. In hindsight, I was overcon-

fi dent. My fi rst attempts to make the

recipe proved that it wasn’t going to be

that easy.

The problem? The dish was

turning out greasy and with way too

much liquid. And the lemon fl avor

lacked freshness and pop. To fashion

a simple recipe that would infuse my

chicken with lemon fl avor that actu-

ally appealed, I knew I’d need to do

some work.

My fi rst move was to ditch the

broth; the chicken gave up enough of

its own tasty juices to make a sauce.

As for the greasiness, I knew that

bone-in chicken thighs stay juicy in

the slow cooker longer than boneless

thighs, but they have a lot of fat. To

deal with it, I removed and discarded

the skin (and with it all the subcutane-

ous fat) and thoroughly trimmed the

rest of the fat from around the meat.

Then I tossed the thighs in the slow

cooker with a simple mix of fruity,

peppery extra-virgin olive oil and

lemon juice.

This time, the results were more

promising. Without its fatty, rubbery

skin, the chicken was now succulent,

with a balanced richness. But the result-

ing sauce still lacked the bright lemon

punch I was after. I tried whisking a

little fi nely grated lemon zest into the

sauce just before serving. It did the

trick, adding a bright freshness and

lemon aroma that the dish needed.

Now my dish was brighter, but

my tasters complained that the sauce

was “monotonously lemony.” The

Lemon

Chicken

The easiest slow-cooker

recipe we’ve ever

published? Maybe.

The best lemon

chicken you’ve ever

tasted? Defi nitely.

by Matthew Fairman

Secret Ingredient:

White Miso

This complex fermented soybean

paste adds deeply savory, nutty,

sweet, and salty

fl avors to our

burger sauce.

A little goes a

long way.

lemon’s acidity needed other fl avors

to balance it. To round out the

fl avor profi le, I started my next test

by seasoning the chicken with a

pantry-friendly mix of black pep-

per, paprika, dried oregano, and

granulated garlic. Once that was in

the cooker, I nestled in 10 herby

thyme sprigs.

Hours later, I returned to my

slow cooker hungry and hopeful,

enticed by the aromas of lemon,

garlic, and herbs. I was immediately

encouraged by the lovely ruddy

color the paprika had given both the

chicken and the sauce. The olive

oil, lemon, herbs, and spices had

combined with the chicken juices in

just the way I’d hoped. They made

a lovely sauce that we all sopped up

with crusty bread once the tender

chicken was all gone. As it turns out,

making good slow-cooker lemon

chicken really is that easy—at least

once you’ve got the right recipe.

SLOW-COOKER LEMON CHICKEN

Serves 6

Serve with white rice.

8 (5- to 7-ounce) bone-in chicken

thighs, skin removed, trimmed

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons table salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon dried oregano

¾ teaspoon granulated garlic

10 sprigs fresh thyme

1 teaspoon fi nely grated lemon zest

plus ¼ cup juice (2 lemons)

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped

fresh parsley

1.Add chicken, oil, salt, pepper, pa-

prika, oregano, and granulated garlic

to slow cooker and toss until chicken is

well coated with spices. Nestle thyme

sprigs into chicken mixture. Add

lemon juice, taking care not to wash

spices from top of chicken. Cover

and cook until chicken is tender,

4 to 6 hours on low.

2.Discard thyme sprigs. Transfer

chicken to shallow serving dish. Stir

parsley and lemon zest into sauce in

slow cooker, then spoon sauce over

chicken. Serve.

BURGER
1 pound boneless beef short ribs,
trimmed and cut into ½-inch cubes
½ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 hamburger buns, toasted and buttered

SAUCE
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 scallion, minced
1 tablespoon white miso
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
¼ teaspoon pepper

1. FOR THE BURGER: Distrib-
   ute beef in even layer on large plate.
   Freeze until very fi rm and starting to
   harden around edges but still pliable,
   25 to 35 minutes.


2. FOR THE SAUCE: Whisk all
   ingredients together in bowl.


3. Pulse half of beef in food proces-
   sor until ground into ¹/16-inch pieces,
   about 20 pulses. Return ground beef to
   plate. Repeat with remaining beef. Pick
   through ground beef and discard any
   long strands of gristle or large chunks
   of fat (for short ribs, typically about
   4 ounces).


4. Divide beef in half and gently form
   into 2 patties, ¾ inch thick and about
   4 inches in diameter. Patties should
   weigh roughly 6 ounces each. Sprinkle
   patties on both sides with salt and pep-
   per, using spatula to fl ip patties.


5. Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet
   over high heat until just smoking.
   Using spatula, transfer patties to skil-
   let and cook, without moving them,
   for 3 minutes. Gently fl ip patties and
   continue to cook until well browned
   on second side, about 2 minutes
   longer. Off heat, cover and let sit
   until meat registers 125 degrees (for
   medium-rare), about 2 minutes. (For
   medium, let sit for 3 minutes to reach
   130 to 135 degrees; for medium-well,
   let sit for 4 minutes to reach 140 to
   145 degrees.) Transfer burgers to
   plate, tent with aluminum foil, and let
   rest for 5 minutes.


6. Transfer burgers to bun bottoms, add
   sauce, and cap with bun tops. Serve.

USE WHOLE SPRIGS

And save yourself arduous picking.