Porch Dining: Barely 4 ingredients. I make it when I want a hearty meal ready exactly when we walk in from an afternoon outside.

Porch Dining: Barely 4 ingredients. I make it when I want a hearty meal ready exactly when we walk in from an afternoon outside. This slow cooker chicken is the sort of practical, no-fuss cooking I grew up with in the rural Midwest—meat, a good sauce, and time doing the work for you while you’re out in the garden or sitting on the porch swing. The long, slow simmer turns simple pantry staples into sticky, charred-edged strips of chicken nestled in a dark, bubbling, almost gelatinous sauce. It feels like Sunday supper, but with the ease of a weekday crockpot meal.

I like to spoon these sticky charred chicken strips over mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles so all that dark, glossy sauce soaks in. A side of green beans, coleslaw, or a simple lettuce salad balances the richness. Warm dinner rolls or a slice of white bread are handy for swiping the bottom of the slow cooker. If it’s truly porch weather, serve it family-style right from the crock on a trivet, with a jar of dill pickles and some sweet tea alongside.

Servings: 4

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into thick strips

Trim excess fat from the chicken thighs and cut them into thick strips about 1 inch wide. Pat the strips dry with paper towels so they sear and caramelize better later.

In the slow cooker crock, whisk together the barbecue sauce, cola or root beer, and soy sauce until smooth and glossy.

Add the chicken strips to the sauce in the slow cooker, turning them so every piece is coated well. Spread them out in an even layer as much as possible so they can develop some charred edges along the sides.

Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours, or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, until the chicken is very tender and easily pulls apart with a fork. Do not lift the lid during the first few hours so the heat and moisture stay consistent.

Once the chicken is tender, use tongs to gently toss and turn the strips in the sauce. Some edges will look darker and lightly charred where they rested against the crock. If the sauce seems thin, leave the lid off and cook on HIGH for 15 to 20 more minutes to let it bubble and thicken into a darker, stickier, almost gelatinous glaze.

For extra sticky, charred bits, carefully press some of the chicken strips up along the sides of the hot crock and let them cook uncovered another 10 to 15 minutes on HIGH, until the edges darken and the sauce clings thickly.

Taste the sauce and adjust if needed by adding a splash more soy sauce for saltiness or a spoonful of barbecue sauce for sweetness. Stir gently so you keep the strips mostly intact.

Turn the slow cooker to WARM and let the chicken sit, covered, until you’re ready to walk in from the porch and serve. Spoon the sticky charred strips and plenty of the dark, bubbling sauce over your favorite side.

You can swap boneless skinless chicken breasts for the thighs, but they will be a bit drier and may not shred as richly. If using breasts, check for doneness earlier so they don’t overcook. For a deeper, smokier flavor, choose a very thick, molasses-heavy barbecue sauce or add a few drops of liquid smoke to the sauce mixture (still keeping the ingredient list at four by choosing a smoky BBQ sauce rather than adding extra items). If you prefer less sweetness, use a cola with less sugar or cut the cola back to 1/3 cup and add 2 tablespoons water to keep the liquid level similar. You can also use diet soda, though the sauce may be slightly thinner. To make the sauce spicier, choose a spicy barbecue sauce as your base instead of adding separate hot sauce. For serving a crowd, double the recipe and use a large slow cooker; be sure the chicken strips are still mostly in a single layer, or stir a couple of times toward the end so everything gets a chance to touch the hot sides and develop those sticky charred edges. For food safety, always start with fully thawed chicken, not frozen, so it comes up to a safe temperature quickly. Cook until the internal temperature of the thickest pieces reaches at least 165°F (74°C). Keep leftovers refrigerated in a shallow container and use within 3 to 4 days, reheating until steaming hot before serving. Avoid leaving the cooked chicken sitting out at room temperature for more than 2 hours (or 1 hour if it’s very hot outside during porch season).