Creamy Cajun Chicken Drumsticks in the Slow Cooker

Creamy Cajun chicken drumsticks that cook themselves while the day happens around them. Eight drumsticks go into the crock with sweet mini corn cobs, a shower of Cajun seasoning and a warm cream cheese sauce poured right over the top. Hours later the sauce has thickened into a glossy orange blanket, the chicken slides off the bone, and dinner is a single ladle away from the table.

This is slow cooker cooking at its most direct: layer, pour, walk away. The chicken drumsticks braise gently in their own juices while the cream sauce, thinned with broth and laced with garlic, settles around them and takes on every bit of the Cajun spice. The baby corn tucked between the pieces turns tender and sweet, soaking up sauce from the middle of the pack.

There is no browning step and no oven; the crock does everything, and the stubbornly low, steady heat is precisely what makes skinless drumsticks moist instead of dry. Serve it straight from the insert at the table or plate it up with the sauce spooned over, and expect the corn to disappear first.

Ingredients

Why this recipe works

Drumsticks are the ideal cut for a slow cooker because their connective tissue and bone reward long, moist heat. Over four to five hours on low, the collagen melts into the sauce and the meat turns spoon-tender without ever drying out, which is hard to achieve with lean breast meat in the same conditions.

Skinless pieces keep the sauce clean-tasting and creamy rather than greasy, since no fat renders off into the liquid during the long cook.

The cream cheese sauce works as both braising liquid and final coating. Cream cheese is an emulsion of fat in dairy, so unlike heavy cream it will not break or curdle under prolonged low heat; it simply thickens as the crock's moisture blends in.

Whisking it smooth with warm broth before it ever meets the crock guarantees a pourable, lump-free sauce that seasons the chicken evenly from top to bottom as it slowly seeps down through the layers.

Notes and substitutions

Cajun seasoning varies widely from jar to jar, especially in salt and cayenne. Taste yours on a fingertip before starting: if it runs hot, hold back to 1 1/2 tablespoons; if it is mild, use the full amount or a touch more.

Mini corn cobs are sold fresh, canned or vacuum-packed; canned ones need only a quick drain and rinse, while fresh ones can go in as they are. Either way, tuck them deep into the pack so they braise in the sauce.

A 6-quart oval slow cooker fits the eight drumsticks and corn in one comfortable layer; anything smaller will need a tighter stack, which is fine but adds about 30 minutes of cook time. Full-fat block cream cheese melts smoothest; whipped or lighter versions contain more water and can make the sauce slightly looser. If the sauce seems too thin at the end, lift the lid for the final 20 minutes on high and it will reduce and cling.

• skinless bone-in drumsticks: Bone-in thighs work the same way; keep the count the same and check they reach 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part.
• mini corn cob pieces: Cut fresh corn on the cob into 2-inch rounds, or use frozen corn kernels added for the last hour of cooking.
• chicken broth: Water with an extra 1/2 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning keeps the sauce creamy when no broth is on hand.
• Cajun seasoning: Blend 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 1/2 tsp dried oregano and 1/2 tsp black pepper.

Equipment

• 6-quart slow cooker
• small saucepan
• whisk
• cutting board
• instant-read thermometer
• serving platter