Aside from blogging and my general homesteading lifestyle I still maintain a full-time job. This means that I (like many of you) need to find clever ways to eat healthy without spending every free minute in the kitchen.
One of my methods I shared with you in my last post was Once A Month Cooking. I am a little more laid back less organized but I still make more than enough food nearly every time I cook. At least half goes into jars or the freezer for me to quickly reheat another day.
Slow Cook Whole Chicken in the Crockpot
My other secret trick is my slow cooker. I love to use it and I think the fall is all about crockpot cooking. But then again I also said that about the hot summer months when I didn’t want to heat up my whole kitchen cooking. Alright, we agree, every time is a good time for slow cooker cooking.
Every once in a while, whole roasting chickens go on sale at my local butcher for $2.50/lb. That means I can get a large (barely fits in my crockpot) chicken for about $18 and it is enough food to feed us for days. And that’s before I even get to making homemade chicken stock!
Whole Roasted Chicken in the Slow Cooker
This method is simple and very hard to mess up. I promise you. My only advice is to keep in mind that every slow cooker runs at a different temperature so observe and make adjustments for the next time around.
I leave mine in for a whole 10 hours. I start it at 7:30am when I leave for work and when I get home at 5:30pm it is falling off the bone. I could probably set it for a shorter amount of time and then it would sit in the warm cycle longer but I like it to really fall of the bone. There is no worry about drying this chicken out I promise.
- 1 large whole roasting chicken
- salt
- pepper
- Remove any spare giblets and whatnot that you do not plan on cooking/eating.
- First rinse the chicken off, inside and out.
- Pat dry.
- Sprinkle salt evenly over the entire chicken. I use about 1 Tbsp for a large bird.
- Lightly dust with pepper
- place the wings behind the body and tie the legs together (this is optional but helps everything to cook evenly)
- Place in slow cooker on low for 6-10 hours.
- play with seasonings! Sometimes I use sage, rosemary, garlic powder or poultry seasoning but it is also incredible delicious with only salt and pepper.
- You can prepare the chicken and store it seasoned overnight. In the morning all you have to do it pop it in the crockpot and turn it on.
- You may also put it under the broiler for 3-5 minutes when finished cooking if your crockpot did not brown it enough.
This post can also be seen on: Tuesdays with a Twist, Allergy Free Wednesday, Gluten Free Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, Homestead Barn Hop
Faith says
Does it brown on it’s own like that? Didn’t know it could brown in a crock pot – how cool. Must try, thank you!
Andrea Mabee says
My crockpot browns it but not that much. I use the method in the optional section of the recipe to brown it under the broiler. It isn’t necessary but I really love the look of a nicely browned chicken 🙂
Miz Helen says
Your Slow Cooker Roasted Whole Chicken looks beautiful and delicious, this is a great recipe. Hope you are having a great week and thanks so much for sharing your great post with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Sayid Mansour says
Mmmm. I love roasted chicken. Sooo good.
AnnaCole says
Good recipe!! Easy too. The first time I made it, I stuck to the recipe. It turned out good…but I thought it needed something. So the 2nd time I made it I added a pkg of taco seasoning. Mmmm…
Thanks for the recipe. My husband has requested a few times since I have made it last. 🙂
Andrea Mabee says
Oh that is such a good idea! I will have to try that!!
AdamSch. says
I did not have the 4-5 hours, so I cooked the chicken, shredded it and added to the balance, and turned the crock on low. We had it over rice, so good! Thank you! I just had to rate this again. I did not drain the beans or corn. When I shredded the Costco chicken it soaked up the juice Perfection. Served with flour tortillas. Who ever invented crock pots are my hero.
Andrea Mabee says
mmm that sounds delicious! And I agree, they are my hero too!! 🙂