Lifestyle

In the Kitchen HOW TO: Roast a Whole Chicken in the Crockpot

You might nevah evah buy a rotisserie chicken again!

It's almost dinner time. You want to give your family healthier options so instead of opting for the drive thru, you head to the store and pick up a rotisserie chicken or you've been out all day and want to make one last stop before heading home and pick up a rotisserie chicken. Or you've been at the grocery store and don't want to cook after you've unload all the groceries so you grab a rotisserie chicken...Sound familiar?

While rotisserie chickens are definitely a step up from fast foods, there are some things to be aware of:
  • The skin of a rotisserie chicken is found to have high amounts of HCA's (a carcinogenic compound that forms when meat is cooked at a hight temperature)
  • Most rotisserie chickens are injected with chemicals you want to steer clear of including yeast extract and phosphate (just to name a few)
  • The healthier the chicken was raised, the healthier the cooked chicken will be for you. 

With that, Costco has these whole "happy" chickens for sale. Yes happy. See below. Two whole chickens come in a package for $22.09. That's up to at least 8 meals! There are healthier rotisserie chickens from Whole Foods too.
But once you have your homemade rotisserie chicken, you can eat it plain, turn leftovers into superb meals such as salads, tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas or add it to soups. 

Tip: Once your done with the chicken, you can cook the bones in a pot of water to make a chicken stock. Here's a great recipe for homemade chicken stock. 


You'll be amazed how EASY it is to roast a whole chicken in the crock-pot. The results are a moist rotisserie like chicken.

Start this recipe early in the week and you and your family will have a happy chicken ready to eat for dinner and some awesome leftovers.

Whole Roasted Chicken in the Crockpot

Ingredients:
1 (4lb) whole chicken (insides removed, patted dry)
1/2 TB paprika
2 TB Italian seasonings 
( or use 1/4 tsp of sweet basil, oregano, garlic, thyme, rosemary, fennel, anise seed)
1/2 TB garlic powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp olive oil
1/2 onion or 1/2 lemon
12'' of twine (dental floss will work too)
4 carrot sticks (washed and chopped all the same size) *opt
4 celery stalks (washed and chopped all the same size) *opt

* if you don't have the veggies use 4 medium size balls of foil to support and prevent the chicken from burning

Directions:
1. Start by mixing your paprika, seasonings, garlic and salt.



2. Add your veggies or foil to the bottom of crock-pot. No need to add any water to the chicken because there is plenty of natural liquid in the chicken. 


3. First place your chicken on top of the veggies or foil in the crock-pot so all the oil and seasonings don't leave you with a mess. Rub olive oil followed by your seasoning mix all over your entire chicken. (including the inside of the bird)

4.Put the flat part of 1/2 the onion or lemon inside the bird. 

5. Tie the two legs of the chicken together with the twine or dental floss to secure the inside.

6. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 1/2 - 8 hours or on HIGH for 4 - 4 1/2 hours.

Viola Homemade Rotisserie Chicken! 


Enjoy!

Got leftovers? Use that chicken in some of these delicious recipes:


2 comments:

Unknown said...

Loved it! Humorous, witty, healthy, practical, and very likely delicious. I am definitely going to try it. Raul

Guadalupe Abbud said...

What a great recipe.
So easy and seems so delicious.
I am cooking it this week and will let you know what my taste buds think about it.
Love how you illustrate the process.
Great job.