The Kind Of Chicken That Results In A Slow Cooker Screwup

The slow cooker has to be, in my opinion at least, one of the most underappreciated kitchen appliances in existence. Still, despite being a fantastic device that can put a meal on the table with minimal effort, there are plenty of common slow cooker mistakes that ruin your food. Along these lines, putting the wrong meat cuts in your slow cooker is one of the cardinal sins guaranteed to lead to regret. While chicken can be the star of many slow cooker dishes, attempting to cook it with the skin still attached is a recipe for disaster.

Susan "Lazy Susan" Goldenberg, owner, recipe tester, and blogger at The Lazy Slow Cooker, explained that leaving skin on chicken in a slow cooker is a surefire way to ruin the best part of the bird. "I prefer not to cook most chicken with the skin on in my slow cooker," she said. "Skin will often stay very soft and gooey due to the humid cooking environment (I like crispy skin)."

Who doesn't appreciate crispy chicken skin? Soft and chewy? No thanks. Just as dryness is the enemy of beef, moisture is the bane of crispy chicken skin's existence. However, despite common wisdom dictating that the outer layer should be removed before cooking chicken slow and low, there is an exception to every rule.

If convenience is your main priority, it's better to remove everyone's favorite part of the chicken before slow cooking it, rather than have it come out of the pot gummy. However, there are some situations when you can have the best of both worlds. Susan Goldenberg made the case for two occasions when the skin could be left on in a slow cooker.

"I do make exceptions when I am making chicken legs, as my recipe does not involve much liquid, and the skin does crisp up a bit," Goldenberg said. Still, even if you use only a little liquid, it's imperative to arrange the chicken so the skin side is facing up. It may also be beneficial to keep the lid open or remove it for a bit once the poultry is cooked through, so the humidity inside the slow cooker escapes and allows the skin to dry out a bit.

The other exception to the no-skin rule is perfect for chicken cuts that were once considered trash: wings. "If you prefer to cook with skin on, another great workaround is to pop the chicken pieces under the broiler or air fryer after the slow cooking time," Goldenberg said. "It only takes about five minutes and will yield fall-off-the-bone tender chicken with crisp skin. I use this method when making wings." Wings aren't the only cuts of chicken that could benefit from this method, but getting the brunt of the work done for a game day snack in a slow cooker certainly has its appeal.