Slow Cooker Belgian Chicken Booyah Recipe

If you're not from the Midwest, then perhaps the word "booyah" conjures up images of face-painted football fans high-fiving one another over a tiebreaking touchdown. But if you've ever spent any time in the Midwest, then you'll probably know "booyah" the way recipe developer Kristen Carli does, refers to a soup of Belgian origin that is "often served at picnics and other gatherings in the Midwest." As for why it's called "booyah," the prevailing story, according to Wisconsin's Green Bay Northwoods League is that a Green Bay resident cooked up a big vat of soup for a community fundraiser and identified it as "bouillon" — a French (and Belgian) word that's pronounced a lot like "booyah." 

Carli's slow cooker version of Belgian chicken booyah is particularly hearty and satisfying — in part because it contains chuck roast as well as dark-meat chicken. And it scores game-winning points because it's chock full of veggies. And as an added bonus, in Carli's version of booyah, most of the ingredients are either canned or pre-cut, making prep just about as simple as you could ever imagine.

For Kristen Carli's version of slow cooker Belgian chicken booyah, you're going to need several categories of ingredients, some of which may entail a trip to the supermarket. First, there is the protein, for which Carli uses two and a half pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs and two and a half pounds of chuck roast. Then there are 12 ounces each of frozen corn kernels, carrot slices, and peas. Then there's a half cup of diced yellow onion and a cup of shredded green cabbage (which you should purchase pre-shredded). You'll also need a 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes, five cups of chicken broth, and the following seasonings: a teaspoon each of ground coriander, crushed rosemary, garlic powder, and salt, and, finally, a half teaspoon of pepper. 

As you can see, there is virtually no prep required for this slow cooker Belgian chicken booyah recipe. In fact, if you're feeling as decadent as you should allow yourself to feel when making a chuck roast-infused chicken booyah, you can even purchase pre-diced onions at your local grocery store. As for the chuck roast, simply grab a sharp chef's knife and cut the meat up into one-inch chunks. Or, heck, just go ahead and pick up a package of pre-cut chuck-roast.

The next step is to place all your ingredients into your slow cooker. Although you can add the ingredients in any order, if you want your dish to look exactly like Carli's does in the photos you see here, then you'll want to add them in the following order: first the peas, then the chuck roast, onions, tomatoes, carrots, green beans, corn, chicken thighs, and shredded cabbage. Then pour the chicken broth in, and sprinkle your coriander, rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper on top.

All that's left to do now to prepare this simple and satisfying booyah is to place the lid on your slow cooker, set the temperature to high, and set the time for six hours. That being said, Carli pointed out that if you're cooking this dish while you're away at work or at school, then you can set the timer for as many as eight hours — but no longer, please. You won't want everything to go mushy. And don't make the slow cooker mistake of taking off the lid to check it too early. 

When that timer goes off, uncover, serve, and enjoy!