Slowly stir in the marinade until incorporated and add back the pieces of dark meat and any juices that have accumulated on the plate. To the pan, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute until a paste forms. Transfer each piece of chicken to a plate when golden. Working in 2 batches, sear all the chicken, turning as needed, until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes per batch.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a bowl and reserve. Cook until the fat is rendered and the bacon is golden, 6 to 8 minutes. In a medium Dutch oven, heat the bacon over medium heat. The next day, remove the chicken from the marinade and dry extremely well with paper towels.

Make sure the legs are well nestled so they’re as covered with the liquid as possible, and set the slow cooker for 3 hours on high, or 6 hours on low.In a large bowl or sealable plastic bag, combine the chicken, mushrooms, salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaves, carrots, celery, onion, leek and wine. Add the wine and the stock and return the chicken legs to the slow cooker along with the button mushrooms.Fry for a few minutes more until the bacon has just started to cook through, and stir in the flour. Add the garlic, peeled and crushed, and the bacon lardons.Add the onion, peeled and chopped, the celery, topped, tailed and chopped, and a little more salt and fry for 5 minutes or so until they have just started to soften and colour.

Tip away any excess fat in the bottom of the slow cooker and return it to the heat, turning the temperature down to medium.

Season the chicken legs generously with salt and pepper and sear them until well browned for a few minutes on each side – as I only own a small slow cooker I need to do this in batches – and once browned set them aside on a kitchen paper lined plate to drain off any excess fat.

If you don’t have a slow cooker with one of those removable sear-and-stew inserts, start this off in a frying pan and transfer everything to the slow cooker just before you add the liquids.

Heat a knob of butter and a splash of oil in the bottom of your slow cooker insert on the hob, over a high heat.

Serve it with regular mashed potatoes on the side, or my Perfectly Creamy Mustard Mashed Potatoes, which are amazing here. I’ve upped the amount of bacon included a) because who does not want more bacon, and b) to use up one half of those little two packs of smoked bacon lardons in one go so you don’t have an open packet catching the air in the fridge.

I’ve used my Mum’s recipe and simply adapted it to work in the slow cooker. So, today I thought I’d start with an absolute French classic, made so much easier in the slow cooker because it means you don’t have to have the oven on for hours on end and you need a little less wine to make it: Coq au Vin. I’ve also noticed how often you’re all typing ‘slow cooker’ into the search box at the top of the page, searching for recipes. Considering how much I use it at home, I feel like I’ve let you all down somewhat that so far I’ve only posted my recipes for Slow Cooker Shredded Mexican Beef Wraps, Slow Cooker Ramen and S low Cooker Thai Red Chicken Curry. This year I’ve resolved to post more recipes for the slow cooker. Friday, 24 January 2020 Recipe: Slow Cooker Coq au Vin

Coq au vin recipe slow cooker