Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Drumsticks

This Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Drumsticks recipe is fall off the bone tender and sooooo tasty! You make it in the slow cooker so it is perfect for Shabbat or Yom Tov! This recipe is kosher, non-dairy, and gluten free. Read on to learn how to make the best Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken.

Jump to:

• Why this recipe works
• Cooking tips and suggestions
• How to Prepare Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Drumsticks
• What Kind of Sauce Should I Use?
• Serving Suggestions
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• Serving Suggestions
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• 💬 Comments

Why this recipe works

• Easy to prepare. All of the ingredients in this pulled bbq chicken recipe can be found at your local kosher market. Like our Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Thighs recipe or our Slow Cooker Pulled BBQ Beef recipe, this recipe involves tossing all of the ingredients into a slow cooker and letting time and heat do all of the work.
• Quick preparation time. This recipe is ready for the slow cooker in under 5 minutes. On a busy Friday afternoon, it is nice to know that Shabbat lunch or dinner can be ready to cook in no time at all.
• Chicken legs never tasted so good! This recipe starts with your choice of bbq sauce and then adds some signature Yay Kosher alterations as it goes. By the time it is ready to eat, you have super tasty bbq chicken legs that will disappear the moment they are served..

Cooking tips and suggestions

• I always end up seasoning the chicken first. Salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder are my heavy lifters in the kitchen as far as seasoning goes.
• Don't skip the paprika, it adds some much needed color. The chicken will come out looking white and anemic without it.
• Stay away from boneless skinless chicken. This recipe cooks low and slow for a long time and loves the additional fat that the skin adds. You can always pull it off before you eat it.

How to Prepare Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Drumsticks

This recipe takes about 5 minutes to prepare from beginning to end. If you are using frozen chicken thighs or legs, make sure to defrost it before starting the recipe. Here is a quick step by step guide that will take you longer to read than it will to make.

Step 1 - Prepare the rub

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine. Then rub all over chicken including under the skin to give it really good flavor.

Step 2 - Set the slow cooker

Place the chicken legs of thighs into the slow cooker, instant pot, or a CrockPot, and completely coat with the bbq sauce. Set the slow cooker to high for 4 hours and then (just like you did when you made our Slow Cooker London Broil) move on to bigger and better things. If you are making this for Shabbat lunch, keep the slow cooker on warm after the 4 hours on high.

What Kind of Sauce Should I Use?

I chose a "classic" Kansas City bbq sauce that did not have honey or pineapple juice sweetening it. This recipe would also go really well with a tangier Memphis style bbq sauce but is also delicious with these sauce styles:

• North Carolina style bbq does not contain any tomato and is comprised of mainly (apple cider) vinegar and peppers and is very thin and watery.
• South Carolina style bbq is similar to North Carolina but with an added mustard base.
• Texas style bbq likes to literally mop on their sauce which is more like a thin glaze that is repeatedly coated on the meat as it cooks. Texas style bbq sauce is typically comprised of beef stock, vinegar, Worcestershire, and spices like salt, pepper, and garlic.
• Kansas City style bbq is the thick, sweet, and tangy sauce with a base of ketchup and molasses and flavored with things such as liquid smoke and brown sugar and other spices. This thick and gloppy sauce is the sauce we normally think of when we say bbq sauce.
• Memphis style bbq sauce is similar to Kansa City but with a thinner more vinegary base.
• Alabama White Sauce is a lesser known bbq sauce style made from mayonnaise, vinegar, and pepper and has a thick and creamy consistency used as a dipping sauce rather than a cooking baste of the previously mentioned styles.

Serving Suggestions

After you have served this recipe as it is written, you may want to change things around a little. Try altering the recipe with these suggesions:

• Serve the chicken over your favorite pasta or Authentic Spanish rice.
• Remove the chicken from the bones, mix with barbeque sauce and serve it on a kaiser roll as a bbq chicken sandwich. (Make sure to top it with our Creamy Coleslaw).
• Chop the chicken into bite sized pieces and toss them into a wok or heavy bottomed pan with snow peas and carrots and onions for a stir fry. Or you can add it to our amazing Lo Mein recipe.
• Shred the chicken and roll it into a soft flour tortilla to make a chicken wrap.
• Use the same shredded chicken and spread it out over a pizza crust. Use barbeque sauce instead of pizza sauce. Top with pineapple, jalapenos, and onions. Bake according to your favorite pizza recipe. (This is Ben's favorite).

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