Crock Pot Orange Chicken

Mmmmm, orange chicken at home. Chinese takeout at home! If you haven't visited Stephanie O'dea's slow-cooking blog, you might want to take a browse through. She made a goal to cook via a slow-cooker for one year. She did it and was so successful that she made a cookbook out of it!

This orange chicken is one of her recipes, but I actually found it via Sweet Tea in Texas.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken, cut in 2-inch chunks
1/2 cup flour
olive oil, for browning the chicken
1 tablespoon kosher salt (If you are using iodized salt, I'd suggest using 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons)
6 ounces (1/2 can) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed (little-to-no pulp. The pulp can taste a bit bitter when cooked)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons ketchup

Directions

Use a 4 quart slow cooker for best results. Dredge the chicken pieces with the flour, and shake off the excess. Go ahead and throw away any remaining flour, we won’t need it. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on the stove and brown the chicken on all sides. There is no need to fully cook it, just sear it enough for the flour to stick and get a nice coating.

Plop the chicken pieces into your slow cooker. In a small mixing bowl, combine the orange juice concentrate, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, and ketchup. Taste. If you’d like the chicken to be a bit sweeter, add a touch more sugar. Pour sauce mixture evenly over the chicken, and toss gingerly to coat.

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 3 to 4. Serve over white or brown rice.


Here are the suggestions that I would have:

If you like ORANGE chicken to taste like orange, then don't do a thing. This is the perfect recipe for you. I've read comments on several different blogs, and those who love orange flavor for their orange chicken love the taste of this recipe.

If you are expecting your orange chicken to taste more like Panda Express or perhaps your favorite Chinese restaurant, then there needs to be some changes made to this recipe. This recipe needs 6 ounces of orange concentrate, but perhaps 4 ounces of orange concentrate and 2 ounces of soy sauce might get you closer to the Panda Express type taste. I also think adding 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger might be a nice addition as well.

I think You're Gonna Bake it After All had a great perspective on this recipe.

Additionally, I used a larger Crock Pot, and this really only took about an hour and half to cook. This isn't a recipe I'd prepare before work; just wait and do it as soon as you get home.