Crock Pot Crazy: Orange Chicken

Update: I made my second batch of Orange Chicken and I’ve found that certain orange juice concentrates are stronger than others. You may need to include more of the other ingredients to balance it out. Also, make sure the chicken is really nicely browned. It will still come out good, but a darker browned shell makes the chicken a little crunchier. Also, the time in the slow cooker varies by model and the crock pot liners are great for this recipe because it makes clean up so much easier.

This has to be one of the best recipes I’ve come across since I found out you could make oatmeal in a slow cooker! I liked this recipe so much that I felt spoiled; like I actually had orange chicken from a restaurant. The sauce thickened nicely and when served with freshly steamed rice, felt like a complete meal. The original recipe is found on A Year of Slow Cooking, and The Pursuit of Happiness has several reader comments that influenced my recipe adaptation. I love the blend of spicy and sweet, and while I thought it would be too sweet, the soy sauce balanced out the recipe well.

Here’s my adaptation of the recipe:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into one inch cubes
• enough flour to coat chicken pieces
• olive oil to coat frying pan
• 3 Tbsp. ketchup
• 4 Tbsp. brown sugar (I used 1/4 tsp. molasses and 4 Tbsp. white sugar blended together, because that’s what I had)
• 1 tsp. rice wine vinegar (I used the pomegranate flavor because that’s what was in my pantry)
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce (low sodium works too)
• 6 oz. (usually half of a can) of orange juice concentrate
• 3 Tbsp. honey
• a few dashes of crushed red pepper flakes
• a few dashes of garlic powder

1. Coat raw chicken pieces with flour and add to an olive oil coated frying pan over medium heat. Saute chicken pieces until browned, but not cooked all the way through. Add chicken to the slow cooker.
2. Mix the rest of the ingredients (ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, orange juice concentrate, honey, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder) together in a bowl and then pour sauce over chicken pieces. Stir.
3. I cooked mine for an hour and a half on the high setting and it was perfect. Depending on how long you cooked the chicken prior to adding it to the crock pot, it could take a little more or a little less time.
4. I served this chicken over brown rice though you could add stir fry veggies or peppers and it should make for a more filling, balanced meal.