Recipe

BBQ Beer Braised Chicken & Carrots

Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 2 hr 30 min
Serves: 4

Low cal, low fat and low effort. This dinner has it all – plus a whack of antioxidants from the carrots. Throw everything in the slow cooker (with 5 ingredients that need little prep, that’ll take about 5 minutes), then you can come through the door to the intoxicating aroma of a simmering barbecue dinner that needs only rice for soaking up the sauce. And this is the go-to-recipe when you buy those budget priced humungous chicken legs with thighs attached. Just cut them into legs and thighs.

Ingredients

8 to 12 skinless chicken drumsticks
OR
4 legs with thighs attached
3/4 cup (175 mL) barbecue sauce
1/2 cup (125 mL) beer or orange juice
1 1/2 tbsp (25 mL) chopped chipotle peppers in abode sauce
1 tsp (5 mL) Tabasco or dried chili flakes (optional)
2 tsp (10 mL) each of dried leaf thyme and rosemary
3 cups (750 mL) baby carrots or thick slices of carrots

Instructions

1 Pull any skin from chicken. Slice legs from thighs if using. Turn slow cooker to low or high depending on how long you want to cook it. In the slow cooker bowl; stir barbecue sauce with beer, chipotle, thyme and rosemary. Add chicken and carrots and stir to evenly coat. Push pieces into sauce as much as possible.
2 Cover and cook for 2 to 2½ hours on high or 4 hours on low. Cooking time depends on the size of chicken pieces. They should reach an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C). Serve beside sugar snap or green peas and spoon the sauce over mashed potatoes or rice. A sprinkle of fresh parsley or basil is a nice touch.