Name: Slow-Cooker Huli Huli Chicken
Total time: 5 h
Ingredients: 2/3 cup pineapple juice; 1/2 cup packed brown sugar; 1/2 cup ketchup; 1/4 cup lime juice (2 limes); 1/4 cup soy sauce; 6 garlic cloves , minced; 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger; 4 (10-ounce) chicken leg quarters , trimmed; Salt and pepper

Why This Recipe Works

This chicken's deep color gets a little help from a salty-sweet sauce (called huli huli), which contains brown sugar, ketchup, and soy sauce. Slow-cooker chicken emerges rather pale at the end of the cooking time, so we knew we'd have to finish the chicken under the broiler to get the level of caramelization we were seeking. Precooking the sauce on the stovetop was ideal, as it thickened the mixture and concentrated its flavor. To balance the intensity of the soy sauce, we added pineapple juice and lime juice, which provided sweetness and acidity, while fresh garlic and ginger rounded things out. We added half of our sauce to the slow cooker to infuse flavor into the chicken as it braised. Basting the chicken with the remaining sauce while finishing it under the broiler enabled us to achieve a traditional-looking mahogany lacquer.

Instructions

1. Bring pineapple juice, sugar, ketchup, lime juice, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger to simmer in medium saucepan over medium heat and cook until thickened and measures 1 cup, 15 to 20 minutes.

Lightly coat slow cooker with vegetable oil spray. Transfer ½ cup sauce to prepared slow cooker; reserve remaining sauce separately. Season chicken with salt and pepper, add to slow cooker, and turn to coat evenly with sauce. 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 ¼ cup reserved sauce and continue to broil until chicken is lightly charred, about 5 minutes, flipping and brushing chicken with remaining ¼ cup sauce halfway through broiling. Serve.