Slow Cooker Seasoned Whole Chicken

Today we are going to take a look at how to prepare an entire chicken in your slow cooker.

Doing a whole chicken in the slow cooker has one disadvantage in that it is not really possible to get the crispy skin one can get with roasting.

It has, however, a number of advantages. It is very easy, will produce a chicken that has universally moist meat and also creates a very flavorful chicken broth at the bottom of the slow cooker.

The first step is to slice up some carrots into large pieces and use them to line the bottom of your slow cooker. You can also use celery or potatoes (or a combination of any of these). The point is not just to get the vegetable flavour but also to get some separation between the chicken and the bottom of the cooker.

Put your chicken on a platter and season. There are any number of ways you can season a chicken for the slow cooker. A little salt and pepper and a healthy coating of paprika is a classic blend. Various chicken seasoning blends work well as does something like a dry jerk or Greek seasoning.

For this one I seasoned liberally with salt and pepper and then I spread two heaping teaspoons of minced garlic in oil over the surface of the chicken. Finally I gave the chicken a nice coating of Herbs-de-Provence.

Place the seasoned chicken atop the carrots. Cut a medium sized onion in half and put inside the cavity of the chicken.

Set the slow cooker to low and let cook for 6 1/2 to 8 hours depending on the size of the chicken.

When done let sit for 10 minutes and then serve carved with the carrots (which will be delicious), or other vegetables if you used them, and some of the onion. Goes well with noodles or rice and, of course, white wine.

Drizzle some broth from the bottom over the chicken or sides. The broth can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days and used in other dishes if desired.

A nice, easy way to make chicken. And, as an added bonus, the hours of slow cooking time will make your house or apartment smell fantastic!

Enjoy.

See also: Clay Baked Chicken: Clay baking a whole chicken..."Roman" style

See also: Chicken with prosciutto and olives