Once You Slow-Cook a Chicken, You'll Never Go Back

By Sarah Lipoff

Published on 12/5/2016 at 6:00 AM

I love roasting a whole chicken for guests. There are so many different flavors you can add, plus it feeds a crowd. But it can get tricky timing everything perfectly so you aren't serving a bone-dry bird or one that's still a touch pink. Slow-cooking a chicken is such a smart solution when you want to focus on entertaining and not being a slave to your oven.

Elevating the chicken from the base of your slow cooker keeps it from basically poaching plus gives it a bit of lift, which makes it easier for extracting once it's finished. Rolling a couple of balls of tinfoil is a simple way to create a base, but a layer of fresh herbs or even onion chunks would work, too.

POPSUGAR Photography | Dean Lipoff

Nestle the chicken into a slow cooker, coating the skin with oil to keep it from sticking. There are so many different options at this point when it comes to infusing taste, like adding fresh herbs, whole cloves of garlic, or even spice blends.

POPSUGAR Photography | Dean Lipoff

Then let your slow cooker do all the work. The result: a seriously succulent cooked chicken with a lightly browned skin. SO good.

POPSUGAR Photography | Dean Lipoff
POPSUGAR Photography | Dean Lipoff

Slow-Cooker Whole Chicken

Cook Time4 hours
Yield4 servings

From Sarah Lipoff, POPSUGAR Food

INGREDIENTS

    • 1 whole chicken, around 4 pounds
    • 1 teaspoon olive oil
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
    • 3 sprigs rosemary

    INSTRUCTIONS

    1. Place four rounds of tinfoil about the size of golf balls into the base of the slow cooker.

    2. Add two sprigs of rosemary and then place the whole chicken on top, removing any giblets beforehand.

    3. Coat the chicken with olive oil then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with the other sprig of rosemary. The earthy flavor will infuse the chicken while it's cooking

    4. Set the slow cooker to medium and cook for 2 to 4 hours or until the internal temperature is 165˚F.

    5. If you absolutely can't live without crispy skin, after removing the whole chicken from the slow cooker, place on a baking tray and broil on the lowest rack of your oven for 3 to 5 minutes.

    6. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving.