Cara's Sweet and Sour Crock Pot Chicken

Submitted by Julesong

"My friend Cara shared this family recipe with me - it's been a favorite on their table for years, and often requested. :) Prep time includes chilling."

 

• Ready In: 5hrs 10mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• Chicken

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts or 6 -8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1⁄2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1⁄4 cup cornstarch
• 2 eggs, beaten well
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or 2 tablespoons peanut oil

• Sauce

• 1⁄4 cup sugar (or temperature-stable substitute such as granular Splenda *)
• 1⁄2 cup rice or 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1⁄4 cup chicken stock
• 1 dash salt
• 3 -4 tablespoons catsup, to taste
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

directions

1. Trim the chicken of fat and gristle, then cut the breasts or thighs into thirds.
2. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken pieces with garlic salt; place into container and let stand in the fridge for an hour.
3. Preheat your crock pot on low.
4. Take the chicken from the fridge; put cornstarch and beaten eggs in separate shallow pans or dishes.
5. Dredge the chicken pieces in the corn starch, then the egg.
6. In a large skillet over medium temperature, heat the oil; slowly cook the dredged chicken pieces, frying to a golden brown on both sides, about 6 to 7 minutes per side.
7. Remove the chicken from the skillet and place in the crock pot.
8. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar (or sugar substitute*), vinegar, chicken stock, salt, catsup, and soy sauce; simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved and ingredients have incorporated well.
9. Pour the sauce over the cooked chicken in the crock pot.
10. Cook on low for 4 hours, then serve with rice and enjoy!
11. *Note:if you use granular Splenda or Splenda Sugar Blend, you might want to use a bit less than 1/4 cup, then prepare the sauce to taste to make sure that it comes to the sweetness you prefer.
12. Julie notes: I'd make some slight additions to the sauce, such as about a 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic and some chopped scallions; also, if you use chicken broth instead of stock, use unsalted broth then season with salt and/or soy sauce to taste.

Reviews

[Parrot Head Mama]

This was very good. I didn't use the eggs (my son is allergic). I added a can of (drained)chunk pineapple, large chopped red onion, large chopped green and red bell peppers, doubled the sauce and it was just enough for us. Will be making this again, thanks for posting.

 

[Peter J]

Yum! Really well balanced flavor and great moist chicken. I made all as directed other than adding some pineapple and red bell pepper to the sauce.

 

[Kara0473]

This was excellent!! Tangy and a little sweet. I made it for a friend and she loved it as well. I will be using this recipe again.

 

[Caryn Dalton]

This was very yummy. I made an error that turned out to be so good I wonder how it could have turned out any better....I misplaced my eggs in the fridge and so I only coated my chicken in cornstarch and browned them like that. I cooked one piece of chicken until done and to my delight the coating was light and crispy, the chicken moist inside. When the finished recipe was ready to eat, the chicken was moist and the sauce had stuck to the chicken very much like KFC sticky wings do. Come to think of it, we may make this recipe again, varying the sauce to see if we can get that great KFC sticky wing sauce...hmmmm..... Anyway, we loved it and thanks for another recipe for my 'Tried and True' cookbook.

 

[DeliciousAsItLooks]

Really good! Served this over rice with scallions sprinkled on top. I used chicken breasts, which was a little dry, but very tender. Great recipe to make some additions to, such as pineapple and bell peppers.