Name: Slow-Cooker Chinese Barbecued Chicken Thighs
Total time: 5 h
Cuisine: ChineseAsia
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce; 2 tablespoons ketchup; 2 tablespoons honey; 1 tablespoon soy sauce; 1 tablespoon dry sherry; 1½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil; 1½ teaspoons grated fresh ginger; 1 garlic clove , minced; 1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder; 8 (5- to 7-ounce) bone in chicken thighs , trimmed

Why This Recipe Works

We wanted to apply the sweet-and-savory flavors of Cantonese char siu to tender chicken thighs. The process for making this dish in a slow cooker was quite simple: First, we made a quick sauce layered with flavors including five-spice powder, hoisin, honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger. Cooking the chicken in the slow cooker with half of the sauce helped tenderize the meat and infuse it with the sauce's flavors. And since char siu's hallmark lies in its deeply caramelized exterior, we brushed the meat with the remaining sauce and gave it a few minutes under a hot broiler to caramelize. In the end we were left with beautiful mahogany-colored barbecued chicken.

Instructions

1. Lightly coat slow cooker with vegetable oil spray. Combine hoisin, ketchup, honey, soy sauce, sherry, oil, ginger, garlic, and five-spice powder in bowl. Place chicken in prepared slow cooker and pour half of hoisin mixture over top. Turn chicken to coat evenly. Cover and cook until chicken is tender, 4 to 5 hours on low.

Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set wire rack in aluminum foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and coat with vegetable oil spray. Transfer chicken to prepared rack; discard cooking liquid. Broil chicken until browned, about 10 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through broiling.

Brush chicken with half of sauce and continue to broil until lightly charred, about 5 minutes, flipping and brushing chicken with remaining sauce halfway through broiling. Serve.