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Making a Whole Chicken in the Crock Pot
My family loves chicken. I am always trying new recipes out and I really enjoy trying them out in the crock pot! I love using my crock pots year round (I actually have four of them, a small one for dips, two mediums circle ones and one large oval one). I have probably made most of my family's favorite meals in one of my slow cookers. This was actually the first time I cooked a whole chicken in the crock pot. I have cooked whole ones on the rotisserie on the grill before and on beer cans on the grill, but never whole in the crock pot before. It was easier to prepare this way than any other way in my book.
Today was also the first time I did not add chicken broth to the recipe. This particular chicken stays extremely moist in just its own juices! I looked at many recipes when deciding what to put in my seasoning, and I think I came up with an optimal light heat combined with a great flavor. I think fresh cloves of garlic make this recipe stand out. You may eliminate it if you don't like garlic, but I would suggest keeping it in and giving it a try. Serve this with a salad and potatoes or veggies and bread on the side. This chicken came out fantastic and I really hope you enjoy my version of this easy recipe!
Cook Time
Ingredients
- 1 chicken, rinsed and dried
- 1 sweet onion, roughly chopped
- 4 cloves fresh garlic, sliced or diced
- 2 tsp sea salt, freshly ground
- 2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
- 3 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp rosemary
- 1 tsp Thyme
- Lightly spray non-stick cooking spray all around the crock pot. Roughly chop or dice the onion. I used a yellow sweet onion in this recipe. Place the chopped onion in bottom of the crock pot. Slice or dice up two cloves of garlic to add into the crock pot with the onion.
- Rinse and pat dry the chicken. Separate the skin from the breast meat a little with your fingers so you can season under the skin. This makes it more flavorful. Slice or dice the other two cloves of garlic and place on the breast of the chicken under the skin. You could rub the garlic cloves all over the chicken before placing the pieces under the skin if you'd like.
- In a small bowl, mix together all the dry seasonings. Rub the seasoning all over the chicken to cover it. Place the chicken into the crock pot breast side up. I used my larger crock pot to make the whole chicken so it could lay down on top of the onions.
- Cook chicken on the low setting of the slow cooker for 6-8 hours. Check with a meat thermometer for doneness. Chicken should register at 165° F in the breast or 165-175° F in the thigh to show that it is done. Chicken with the bones in it takes longer to cook than it does without bones. Just keep that in mind and enjoy this fantastic, flavorful chicken.
