Friday, April 12, 2013

Crock Pot Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic


My story of making this dinner is very similar to the story Stephanie shared when she posted the recipe. I was prepping it the night before I planned to serve it when Joe walked into the kitchen. Upon seeing (and smelling!)  the piles of garlic on the cutting board, all he could say was, "Uhh..." When I told him all of the garlic was for one recipe, he was well beyond skeptical. Later on in the evening, we were sitting on the couch holding hands, and he raised my hand to give me a kiss (awww) but stopped short when he smelled the scent of garlic that no soap can completely remove. Not that I blame him; I'm not a fan of walking around smelling like garlic on a daily basis, which is why I use the minced stuff from the jar whenever I can get away with it (deep dark culinary confession!).

Anyway, the lack of hand kisses was completely worth it, I have to say. It really does sound like a lot of garlic, and it is a lot of garlic, but after cooking all day in the Crock pot the flavor totally mellows and becomes similar to that of roasted garlic. The flavor is intense, slightly sweet, and absolutely delicious, and the paprika adds a nice smoky quality to the broth. This was a hit with the entire family, and the leftovers worked great in these Tuscan-style chicken sandwiches. This meal is perfect for this time of year; you get all the flavor of a chicken dinner without even turning on your oven. 

Crock Pot Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic
adapted from Stephanie Cooks

1 medium onion, chopped
3 bone-in, skinless chicken breasts
2 teaspoons each salt, paprika, and freshly ground black pepper
40 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 cup chicken stock
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon butter

1. Cover the bottom of the Crock pot with the chopped onions. Then add the chicken and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika. Stir the chicken, spices, and onion together with your hands until everything is well coated.

2. Add the garlic to the Crock pot and mix so the cloves are in and around the chicken. Pour in the chicken broth. Add the bay leaf and the thyme sprigs. Top with the butter.

3. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours. Discard bay leaf and thyme.

4. When serving, pour the broth over the sliced chicken.

3 comments:

Stephanie said...

So funny that your husband had the same reaction! It's good though, so it's worth stinky hands!

K1DUB said...

All you have to do is put the unpeeled garlic cloves in the bottom of one bowl and clap another bowl over it. Shake the crap out of it and voila! peeled garlic :o)

I'm gonna try this

Pam the Realtor said...

I just went and stuck this in the crock pot, so hope it's as good as yours! I had to use minced garlic since I didn't have any cloves, so hope that works.