Slow cookers are COOL

I ♥ my slow cooker. There, I said it. It’s an embarrassing appliance to rely on: a 1970’s mum thing, used to create old fashioned food like stews and soups from cheap cuts of meat. But, honestly, that’s my favourite kind of food and the stuff I was raised on.

Slow cookers definitely don’t suit everyone. If you turn off all your appliances before you leave your house, you’re not going to like it. If you don’t like freezing stuff or keeping leftovers in your fridge, it’s not for you. But if the idea of getting home from work on a chilly night to beef that’s been simmering in red wine all day, then what are you waiting for?

When my friend Craig was given a slow cooker by his ma, I realised that there’s one thing I use my slow cooker for more than anything else: poaching chicken. It’s so simple, it’s barely even a recipe.

Slow cooker poached chicken

Ingredients
One whole chicken or a few whole chicken legs (you’ve got to use two at least to make it worthwhile, I think)
One onion, peeled and quartered
One or two carrots, snapped in half
Half a lemon
Salt and pepper

What to do:
1. Put the whole lot in the slow cooker and cooker for about eight hours. If you want to make stock, too, add up to a litre of water. If you’re not bothered about stock, add about a cup. That’s it.

If you want the stock, remove the meat then strain the juices through the sieve. Unless you’re making soup, ditch the veggies. When the meat has cooled a little, pick it off the bone and serve with veggies and gravy as a makeshift roast, or add to risotto, salads or sandwiches. More on poached chicken to come – I’m a little obsessed.