To stew the legs,
start by removing the skin. Just grab the skin where it’s been cut, and pull it
off. Save the skin to make CHICKEN CHIPS/CHICKEN CRISPS/GRIBENES. Then put the skinned legs into a pot of water. Hot water is supposed to be
better, because it keeps more of the flavor in the chicken and less in the
water. Cold water is supposed to be better if what you’re looking for is
flavorful broth. Since I use both the chicken and the broth, I just do whatever
is easiest, which usually means running water from the hot water tap but not
worrying about letting it warm up first or heating it on the stove before
adding the chicken. Cover the chicken with water. You can add some salt,
poultry seasoning, an onion, some carrots or celery, and/or a bay leaf or two,
but I usually don’t bother. I figure that whatever I’m going to use the chicken
in will have salt and herbs and other flavors so I don’t use them when I’m
cooking the chicken. That way I don’t have to worry about whether the flavors I
used when I cooked the legs goes well with the flavors in the final dish, or
whether it’s over-salted because I salted both the legs and the final dish.
Bring the water to a boil, then reduce it and simmer until the chicken is done.
Falling off the bone is good, cooked to death is not. Depending on how many leg
quarters you have and how big a pot, probably an hour or so.
If you want to stew
your chicken in a slow cooker, follow the same directions except cook it for
about 4 hours on high or 6 to 8 on low.
