Name: Slow-Cooker Fig-Balsamic Glazed Chicken Drumsticks
Total time: 5 h
Ingredients: 4 pounds chicken drumsticks , trimmed; 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary or 2 teaspoons dried, crumbled; Salt and pepper; 3/4 cup fig preserves; 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar; 1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest

Why This Recipe Works

We wanted to use our easy method to make tender slow-cooked drumsticks with a delicious sticky-sweet glaze. The method translated perfectly to the drumsticks; we simply seasoned them with salt, pepper, and a little aromatic rosemary and cooked them until tender. Then we set them on a wire rack and broiled them until the skin was crispy and browned, glazing them partway through broiling. For the glaze, we decided on the classic Italian combination of figs and balsamic vinegar. To keep our glaze as simple as possible, we relied on fig preserves, which had great flavor and an ideal thick consistency. We simply added some balsamic vinegar and orange zest to round out the flavor. These drumsticks cook up charred and sticky after a short time under the broiler.

Instructions

1. Lightly coat slow cooker with vegetable oil spray. Toss chicken with rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in prepared slow cooker. 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. Broil chicken until lightly charred, about 10 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through broiling.

Whisk preserves, vinegar, orange zest, 1 teaspoon pepper, and ½ teaspoon salt together in bowl. Brush chicken with one-third of sauce and continue to broil until lightly charred, about 5 minutes, flipping and brushing chicken with more sauce halfway through broiling. Brush chicken with remaining sauce. Serve.