Slow Cooker Chicken “Cobbler”

This stew is a classic flour-thickened and cold-weather-vegetable-heavy affair, and the topping—though you don’t even have to put it on top—is a contrasting fluffy, crusty cheddar biscuit. This might seem like a complicated recipe, but it’s simpler than it looks. You can even substitute bakery-bought biscuits for homemade, or just leave them off and serve the hearty stew as is, perhaps with some good bread. ―Liana Krissoff, author of Slow Cook Modern

October 04, 2017

Ingredients

Chicken “Cobbler” Stew

¼ cup all-purpose flour, or more, if needed
salt
freshly-ground black pepper
2 lbs. well-trimmed boneless, skinless chicken thighs, each cut roughly in half
½ onion, diced
1 Tbsp. schmaltz or olive oil
1½ cups chicken or turkey stock
2 carrots, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 Yukon Gold or peeled russet potato, diced
1 bay leaf
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Chicken “Cobbler” Drop Biscuits

2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 oz. extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1⅓ cups half-and-half or milk

Instructions

IN THE MORNING

Start the stew: In the slow cooker, combine the flour, 1 teaspoon salt and several grindings of pepper. Toss the chicken and onion in the mixture to coat. In a large skillet or sauté pan, heat the schmaltz over medium-high heat. When it shimmers, add half of the chicken and onion and cook, turning occasionally, until the chicken is golden on both sides, about 5 minutes total.

Scrape into a bowl and brown the remaining chicken and onion mixture (it’s okay if some of the flour dredge remains in the cooker). Return all of the chicken and onion to the cooker. Pour ½ cup of the stock into the hot skillet, scraping up any browned bits, then pour the liquid into the cooker. Add the carrots, celery, potato, bay leaf and the remaining 1 cup stock. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

MORNING OR EVENING

Start the drop biscuits: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the butter and pinch it in with your fingertips. Add the cheese and toss to combine. If doing this in the morning, put the bowl in the refrigerator.

EVENING

Finish the drop biscuits: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Stir the half-and-half into the flour mixture until just incorporated—don’t overmix the dough. Drop six to eight mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake until golden, 15 to 17 minutes.

Finish the stew: Fold in the parsley. Season the stew with salt and lots of pepper. If it’s very liquid, ladle some of the liquid into a bowl and whisk in 2 or more tablespoons flour, then gently stir it back into the stew. Serve over sautéed English peas.

Photo by Rinne Allen. From Slow Cook Modern by Liana Krissoff (Harry N. Abrams, 2017).