This tutorial falls under the category of simple, yet sweet. Or should I say, simple, yet savory! This is the perfect weeknight meal solution and as of recent, it is a near weekly occurrence in our house. I grab a fresh 3-4 lb whole pasture-raised chicken at the farmers market or Whole Foods, I rub it down, season it up, pile it atop some root veggies in the Crock Pot and voila, 4 hours later, dinner is ready.

The best part of a weekly whole chicken is how many meals we get from it. The meal from the whole roasted chicken is good for at least 2-3 meals, we enjoy it with the potatoes, as chicken salad, on top of big green salads, etc. Then I make a big pot of stock from the leftover bones and we get another 2-3 meals from that. This is truly a must for any busy family.

The seasonings on your chicken can vary with your preference and your mood. Generally I use this all-purpose herb and seasoning blend, that I love, occasionally I will opt for a spicy, chile pepper rub, it’s also great with lemon zest, garlic and freshly ground black pepper. The possibilities are endless. Seriously, you will never buy that rotisserie chicken from the store, again.

How-to Make Roast Chicken in the Slow Cooker

1) Place your potatoes and onions, or other root vegetables into the lightly greased crock pot. Stuff the chicken with onion, garlic cloves, fresh herbs and whatever else you’d like. Rub your chicken with a little olive oil and your favorite seasoning blend.

2) Place the chicken, breast side down into the crock pot, on top of the potatoes and onions. Cook for 4 hours on high, 6 hours on low (cook times can vary depending on your slow cooker).

3) Enjoy right from the crock pot or place the chicken under a hot broiler for 4-5 minutes to get the skin a little extra browned and crisp.

[print_this]How-to Make Roast Chicken in the Slow Cooker
this is the slow cooker that I use

• 2 lbs red potatoes (or other potato or root vegetable of your choice), washed well
• 1 large or 2 small yellow onions
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 whole pasture-raised chicken (3-4 lbs)
• 1 tablespoon Terra Delyssa Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose herb and seasoning blend (or your favorite spice blend)
• 2 teaspoons pink Himilayan sea salt, or to taste

Lightly grease the inside of the slow cooker with a little oil. Cut the potatoes into halves or quarters, depending on their size. Cut the onion into quarters. Add all of the potatoes and half of the onion to a 5.5 – 7 quart slow cooker. Remove the giblets from the chicken. Add the other half of the onion inside the chicken cavity, with 3 whole cloves of garlic, and some fresh rosemary sprigs, if you have them.

Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the Terra Delyssa Olive Oil all over the chicken, rub it in to evenly distribute. Rub the seasoning all over the entire chicken, you can tuck some under the skin as well, if you’d like. Tie the legs together, if you’d like. Place the chicken, breast side down, on top of the potatoes and onions. No need to add any liquid, the chicken will create it’s own. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook for 4 hours on high, 6 hours on low*.

Serve the chicken with the potatoes, or mash the potatoes for an extra special treat. See below on how to get extra crispy skin, if you so desire. [/print_this]

Recipe Notes:

This is vary important: slow cooker temperatures and strengths can and do vary, so watch your chicken carefully the very first time you cook it. You may want to try one of those pop-up timer things and keep an eye on it. Some may take longer, but you also definitely don’t want to overcook the chicken.

You can use other root vegetables in place of the potatoes, if you’d like. Sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, parsnips, etc

Try adding lemon to the chicken cavity for even more flavor

If you wish to get the skin extra crispy, after you remove the chicken from the slow cooker, place the whole chicken on a cookie sheet under your broiler for about 4-5 minutes, until the skin is golden brown, being careful to check it and not let it burn or dry out.

 

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