chicken cassarole question

[mothersmilk]

iv some chicken thighs rather than breasts as i would usually use should i,
remove or leave the skin?
brown them first? and if so how would you recimend i.e fry/grill
i will just be bunging it all in a slow cooker after

I would brown them for 5 mins or so with the skin on, along with any other veg you want to brown in a big frying pan or pot, and then chuck it in the slow cooker.

I leave the skin on (out of laziness) and fry them off really quickly in the same pan that am going to be making the casserole in before taking them out and putting the onions in (I think any old frying pan would do though)...

It's a matter of personal taste really.

You can leave the skins on for flavour (ie the fat that is in the skin) but they won't be particularly nice to eat - all soft and flabby. If you do leave them on I would brown them first to make them more attractive.

Or, the easiest option would be to take off the skins and put them straight in the slow cooker without browning.

The skins will fall off in the slow cooker - fish them out before you serve up though because as Stubby says they go all soft and flabby.
Yes - do brown them off first though. You need to do this with pretty much any meat to add to the flavour.

thighs are soooo much nicer than breast in casseroles - you won't go back! I always remove the skins then brown them in a frying pan. yum

If it's going in the slow cooker I skin them and chuck all the ingredients in without any pre cooking.
I find if I leave any scrap of fat on poultry or meat when slow cooking it makes the finished dish a bit greasy.