Slow Cooker Bourbon Breast of Chicken

This is not a Christmas or New Year or holiday recipe in any traditional sense; the only holiday-ish thing about it is the bourbon. However, it is a wonderful recipe to put together before heading out to lunch and a day of shopping or gift returning - or any afternoon activity. I only found a couple of references to it on the Internet (a little different from my version) which really surprised me because we love it.

I was told this recipe originally appeared - in some version - in Crock Cookery by Mike Roy (Ward Ritchie Press, 1975) but I can’t swear to that.

I make the recipe as is for 2 chicken breasts to yield a lot of sauce. When I make this with 4 chicken breasts, I double all the sauce ingredients (from onion on down), but don’t use all the liquid from the tomatoes/mushrooms - it’s too watery.

Slow Cooker Bourbon Breast of Chicken

Ingredients:

4 chicken breast halves, skinless
2 Tablespoons oil (I use olive oil)

1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (or 2 teaspoons dried)
1/4 teaspoon dried chervil (or substitute 1/4 teaspoon of dried parsley)

One 4-oz. can mushrooms, undrained
One 10-oz. can tomatoes (I can’t find this size can so I use about 2/3 of a 15 ounce can; the whole 15 ounces is too much for this recipe)
1/8 teaspoon Lawry's Season Salt
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup bourbon

Directions:

Heat oil in skillet.

Mix flour, paprika, and 1 teaspoon salt in brown paper bag.

Add chicken breasts one at a time and shake to coat breast with flour mixture.

(You can also mix flour, paprika, and salt on a plate or in a wide bowl and dredge the chicken.)

Saute chicken breasts on both sides until lightly browned (about 5-6 minutes per side).

Remove chicken breasts to slow cooker.

Add onion, parsley, and chervil to skillet and cook for just a minute or two. Turn off heat under skillet.

Add tomatoes, mushrooms, Season Salt, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to skillet. Stir to scrape up brown bits.

Stir bourbon into skillet.

Pour skillet contents over chicken in slow cooker.

Cook at low for 6 to 7 hours.

Serve over noodles.