Easy Slow Cooker Barbecue Chicken Drumsticks

This is the slow cooker I was using a few years back. (It’s been in the garage. It’s kind of beat up…)

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Yes, I was using this old slow cooker. My sister found it at a thrift shop several years ago, and knowing how much I like vintage things, she got it for me. I had another one, but it didn’t cook evenly, so I kept going back to this old thing. I used it a lot, actually (even though it’s kind of hard to clean, because the crock isn’t removable.)  My daughter (who loves vintage things), has decided that she will claim it for her own.

Then, I just quit using a slow cooker. WHY?  I have no idea.

I recently bought a new one.  Pretty boring news, right?  Except that it isn’t boring news to me, because I’m glad to finally have a slow cooker that is pretty enough to leave out on my counter, cooks evenly, and isn’t tiny.

After reading many reviews, I  bought a red, 6qt. manual Crock Pot, very similar to this one. Mine doesn’t have the lid-mounted locking system, but I love that feature. It’s much more portable with the lock. (I understand, though, that you should NOT have it locked while it is cooking.)

It has the simple, old school dial I like–High, Low, and Warm. I didn’t want a digital display or timer. (The less parts to break, the better I like it.)  It’s a nice size–6 qt.  And,  I love the price. 

The first thing I made in my new Crock Pot was barbecue chicken drumsticks.  Well, I’m not sure I can call them barbecue drumsticks. More like barbecue tomatoey drumsticks.

You’ll need:

6-10 chicken drumsticks (supposedly you should only have one layer, but I had a couple more on top of the others, and it was fine.)  The recipes I’ve seen mostly say to remove the skin, but I usually forget to, and it’s still good. More fatty though.) You can also use frozen drumsticks and cook them longer. I haven’t tried that yet.

1 bottle barbecue sauce (I used Maull’s 18  oz.)*

1 regular can diced tomatoes

Place the drumsticks in the slow cooker and pour the barbecue sauce and diced tomatoes on top. Cook on high for about 3-4 hours.

(That’s it. Really.)

*(Here’s a confession.  The original recipe really only calls for barbecue sauce and no tomatoes, but I hadn’t made it in a few years, and I was worried that one bottle of barbecue sauce didn’t look like enough. I had some canned diced tomatoes, so I threw those on top, and it was good!  If you want more traditional barbecue drumsticks, omit the tomatoes and just use some more barbecue sauce, maybe another bottle.)

It smells so good while it’s cooking.

I like to serve this with gluten free macaroni and cheese. Add a salad, and you have a meal that even little kids will like. ( I could never get my kids to eat salad when they were little, but maybe you are more successful at that!)

If you try this, please tell me what you think!

Try it Yourself!

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