Did you know that you can make super moist chicken for your family by cooking a whole chicken in your slow cooker? Not only is buying a whole chicken cheaper than one cut in pieces from the butcher department, but it can be used for broth as well as meat!
If you happen to have 2 slow cookers, you can do what I do and cook 2 whole chickens at once. One I use for dinner that night. Then the other chicken I shred and freeze for other dinners, use the broth to make gravy, and then cook the carcass to make broth to freeze!
Its a super simple process. Below you will find the recipe I use, and a video showing how I like to do it. But the best part of cooking a whole chicken in your slow cooker, is that you can change the spices and veggies to whatever you like, or have on hand and the process stays the same! You will get super moist chicken every time!
Ingredients:
- Whole Chicken (around 4-5 pounds depending on your slow Cooker size)
- Salt, Pepper
- lemon
- Onion
- paprika
- Poultry seasoning
- Soy sauce
Directions:
1. Combine Spices in a small bowl. Pour over rinsed and patted dry raw chicken.
2. Loosely chop the onion and place it in the bottom of the slow cooker.
3. Remove any giblets from the chicken and then rub the spice mixture all over.
4. Put some of the spices inside the cavity and under the skin covering the breasts, as well as half a lemon. Pour some soy sauce over.
5. Put prepared chicken on top of the onions in the slow cooker, cover it with spices and herbs you prefer, and turn it on to high. No need to add any liquid.
6. Cook for 4 — 5 hours on high (for a 3 or 4 pound chicken) or until the chicken is falling off the bone.
Don’t forget to make your homemade stock with the leftover bones! All you need to do is to put the chicken carcass back in your slow cooker after you’ve cleaned most of the chicken meat off it. Then add water to cover the bones. Put on low overnight. Strain broth and use or freeze!
About Shannon SchmidShannon traded in her sensible NYC TV producer shoes (they were best for taking the subway), for a pair of Texas Cowboy boots when she married her best friend! He's at fault for making this Yankee a Texan! Shannon writes about all things that make a house a home. Her chief blogging inspiration is being the proud & slightly neurotic mom of a preschool age daughter.
You can find Shannon on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and her new favorite place to hang out, Google+.
That is super easy and it looks delicious!! Thank you for this yummy recipe!!
I have never tried a whole chicken before… this looks interesting to try!
That sounds easy. I love using a slow cooker. I never have to worry about burning anything.
I love cooking in the crock pot! Makes meal preparations so much easier and frees up time for other more fun things. I have never cooked a whole chicken in the crock pot…and this looks way easy; so I will be adding this to my meal plan in the future!
I love slow cookers! This one looks easy!
This looks delicious! I just bought a slow cooker today. Will have to try it out!