Dutch Oven Chicken without the coals

Hectic.

Wonderful.

Crazy.

Exciting.

Expensive.

Blessing.

Yup . . . that’s Christmas!

With all the hustle & bustle of the holidays,

we need easy but delicious, throw together meals.

This Chicken is just that easy.

It will remind you of Dutch Oven Cooking over hot coals.

Nothing really tastes as good as the “real” thing . . . but it’s sure close.

If you have some Chicken breasts – grab them.

The KEY to this Crispy – moist – scrumptious chicken, is this Nesco Roaster oven/slow cooker. My Mother in Law, gave this gift to me – years ago for Christmas. It’s my favorite, because it browns and slow cooks!

You can find your own Nesco 6 Qt Roaster oven Here. This is what I use  for:  Roasts, Stews, Soups and everything else in between.

I have about 6 large boneless skinless Chicken Breasts

5 pieces of bacon – cut into about 1/2″ pieces

I use both margarine & butter – 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) of butter + 2 tablespoons margarine.

Why?

If you use all butter . . . it tends to burn.

You could also use butter and olive oil or vegetable oil if you like.

I also have about 1 cup of all purpose flour that I’ve seasoned with a bit of salt & pepper.

Use the spices your family likes best, and place the flour in a zip loc bag.

I crank the dial of this cooker to 400 degrees – all the way up.

Place the margarine and the butter inside the cooker and let it begin to melt.

Give your bacon a rough chop . . . chop chop.

Toss it over the edge and let it begin to sizzle and smell delicious.

I like to wash my chicken breasts and pat them dry with a paper towel.

I also remove FAT . . . cuz I like to add butter!

Place one or two chicken breasts inside your bag of seasoned flour and do the shake.

Just like this.

Flour all of your chicken breasts and lay it carefully over the butter/marg/bacon mixture . . . that’s smelling really good.

Just like this.

Oh yes…..I cut some the the beastly large chicken breasts in half . . . as you can see above.

I put the lid on and let it go to town.

It’s still on 400 degrees and browning beautifully on one side.

Once it’s brown on one side, carefully flip it over.  Add a touch more margarine if necessary, for the other side.

It doesn’t take long to brown both sides!

It’s not quite done though – I don’t care for pink chicken.

Once it’s as brown as we like it, I turn the cooker down to the LOWEST TEMPERATURE and cook for about 15 -20 minutes longer.

It’s fall apart tender and CAN YOU SEE ALL THOSE CRISPY GOLDEN BITS?

Make sure that nobody is watching and . . . EAT THOSE ALL BY YOURSELF!

Now,

Your could make a beautiful gravy with all those bits….but that’s for a non-crazy type of day.

Can you see that bacon clinging to that chicken?

Oh my heck . . . Good.

Just pretend you’re camping in the wilderness with streams running by and birds chirping and sun shining over all!

My notes:  If you want to do the same thing, but you don’t have a slow cooker that browns . . . that’s o.k.  You can melt a bit of marg/butter in a skillet over med/high heat. Toss in your bacon and begin to brown it. Toss your chicken in flour and lay each piece over the melted butter mixture.  Brown each side well.  Add one tablespoon of Margarine & one Tablespoon of butter to your slow cooker/crockpot. Turn it to LOW. Take everything that is in your pan . . . leftover butter and all those crispy golden brown bits and put it into a slowcooker over low heat.  Cook the chicken breasts until they are tender and easily fall apart when piereced with a fork. When the chicken is ready, I remove any unwanted butter/marg with a power towel.  EAT!

 

Dutch Oven Chicken – Almost.

6 large chicken breasts – washed, trimmed & pat dry with a paper towel

5 pieces of bacon – cut into about 1/2″ pieces

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) of butter + 2 tablespoons margarine.

flour for dredging chicken breasts

salt & pepper to taste

Directions: If using a Roaster oven/slow cooker

Turn the roaster oven to 400 degrees – all the way up.

Place the margarine and the butter inside the cooker and let it begin to melt.

Take a sharp knife and cut the slices of bacon into 1/2″ pieces.

Add to the butter/margarine mixer in the roaster.

Let it begin to brown while you flour the chicken.

Put your flour into a zip loc type bag.

Place two chicken breasts at a time into the flour – close the bag and shake until well coated with flour.

Repeat until all the chicken has been coated with the seasoned flour.

Lay each piece carefully inside the roaster oven – right on top of the bacon/butter/marg/ mixture.

Place the lid on and cook until its golden brown.  Flip over and brown the other side.

TURN THE ROASTER/SLOWCOOKER TO LOW HEAT.

Put the lid back on and continue cooking the chicken just until it is tender.

(Take a fork and break it apart . . . it should break apart easily and be moist & tender.  Don’t over cook it!)

Note:   If you want to do the same thing, but you don’t have a slow cooker that browns well, that’s o.k.  You can melt a bit of marg/butter in a skillet over med/high heat. Toss in your bacon and begin to brown it. Toss your chicken in flour and lay each piece over the melted butter mixture.  Brown each side well.  Add one tablespoon of Margarine & one Tablespoon of butter to your slow cooker/crockpot. Turn it to LOW. Take everything that is in your pan . . . leftover butter and all those crispy golden brown bits and put it into a slowcooker over low heat.  Cook the chicken breasts until they are tender and easily fall apart when piereced with a fork. When the chicken is ready, I remove any unwanted butter/marg with a power towel.  EAT!

 

 

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