The public has spoken–faux rotisserie chicken it is! Don’t worry, my little pretties, we’ll have Texas Sheet Cake soon.
Suffice it to say that me + a whole chicken = culinary disaster. I actually once had a real, true panic attack while skinning a whole raw chicken.
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Make 3 balls of aluminum foil and place them in the bottom of your slow cooker. These hold the chicken off the bottom so the hot air can circulate all around the chicken and so it’s not stewing in its own juices.
Rinse chicken, including the cavity, and pat dry with paper towels. Place the chicken on its back so the breast is facing up and the legs are on the plate. If you want (and I actually strongly recommend that you do UNLESS you’re looking for a neutral flavor), pull the skin up all around the chicken. This does involve sticking your hand between the skin and the breast. Oooh, sounds dirty. Slice a few garlic cloves in half lengthwise and stick them under the skin. You can also arrange a couple sprigs of fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, and/or sage under the skin. This makes a very pretty chicken when it’s all cooked and adds a lot of flavor.
Rub salt-based seasoning VERY liberally onto the skin of the chicken. Place chicken breast-up on the foil in the slow cooker, cover, turn heat to low, and leave it alone for 7-8 hours.
(And by breast side up I mean, completely opposite of the pictures shown in this post. Hey, you try photographing every step of your dinner and see if you make it all the way through without an upside-down chicken every once and a while…!)
This poor guy has no idea what’s coming…
I actually didn’t take it out of the slow cooker for the last picture because it’s so tender that the legs and wings will literally fall off when you pull it out. But that makes for some yummy chicken! Try it with steak fries or Sara’s Stuffed Bleu Cheese Potatoes.
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Instructions:
Make 3 balls of aluminum foil and place them in the bottom of your slow cooker. These hold the chicken off the bottom so the hot air can circulate all around the chicken and so it’s not stewing in its own juices.
Rinse chicken, including the cavity, and pat dry with paper towels. Place the chicken on its back so the breast is facing up and the legs are on the plate. If you want (and I actually strongly recommend that you do UNLESS you’re looking for a neutral flavor), pull the skin up all around the chicken. This does involve sticking your hand between the skin and the breast. Slice a few garlic cloves in half lengthwise and stick them under the skin. You can also arrange a couple sprigs of fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, and/or sage under the skin. This makes a very pretty chicken when it’s all cooked and adds a lot of flavor.
Rub salt-based seasoning VERY liberally onto the skin of the chicken. Place chicken breast-up on the foil in the slow cooker, cover, turn heat to low, and leave it alone for 7-8 hours. Try it with steak fries or Sara’s Stuffed Bleu Cheese Potatoes.
Questions & Reviews
I just want to say thanks for all your wonderful recipes! This was a fantastic way to cook a chicken!
I have made several of your recipes and ALL were good! You cook great food without being overly “fussy”. My husband wants a plate of food, not 2 mini veggies crossed over a cube of meat, and you deliver!! Keep up the great work!
Thanks!
Pat
This chicken is amazing! I use the garlic paste that comes in a tube instead of actual garlic cloves. I have also cooked turkey breasts this way, and they are excellent. The meat stays moist, and is perfect for sandwiches—I like a grilled cheese on rye with the turkey on it. Yum.
I can’t imagine how many hand washings you had to go through to make and photograph this chicken! I too am paranoid about under-cooked poultry! Last Thanksgiving I brined my turkey, and it was so moist and juicy, that I lost sleep that night fearing that it hadn’t been fully cooked and that all my guests would end up in the ER!
I have a small crockpot (would have to stand the chicken up) and a much larger Nesco oven w/rack. Can I use the Nesco, or have to buy a larger crockpot? Can’t wait to try this recipe!
I’m really not sure- you’ll just have to see what fits!
I have a CuisineArt slow cooker. I set it on low for about 7 hours. Came out overcooked. Next time I will adjust the time down. I’m going to read all these comments and hopefully next one will be even better. At least I’m not afraid of cooking a whole chicken anymore!!
Thanks 🙂
Another dinner success! This was my first time making a whole chicken and my mother was not confident I could do it- and even she was impressed! I used a 4.5 lb bird in a large crockpot. I washed the chicken, dried it, stuff thyme and rosemary in the cavity and in between the skin and breast. I sprinkled the entire bird with Ruby’s Rub from Ruby’s BBQ in Texas. I cooked it for 8 hours and when I served it was literally falling off the bone! Thank you, i will continue to try your recipes.
Sounds awesome and excited to try! Some ideas on other posts:
Worried about dry breast meat…try a brine ahead of time. It will add flavor and help retain moisture.
Crisper skin…try broiling quickly before adding to cooker and maybe even basting.
This is my go-to recipe for making whole chickens. I attempted to make one in the oven and it didn’t work out very well. I love that I can do so many different spices and flavors with it!
I’ve made this twice for my own house AND at work. I work on a military base with bunch of men in a fire station. What a great way to feed a bunch of hungry men! It’s economical and can be used for several days. With the leftovers we made chicken tacos for dinner the next night! Other things we’ve done with the leftovers: chicken soup, chicken salad, chili, put it on pizza, simmer with your fave bbq sauce…the list goes on!
I saw a similar method to cook bbq brisket on an episode of “Cook’s Country” only they placed the brisket on an upside down aluminum bread loaf pan. Question, how does the skin turn out? I’m usually looking for crispy skin, so I tend to steer clear of the slow cooker. Thanks
Tried this recipe for the first time today and will again
Not as “pretty” as those I’ve seen online/skin was almost the same color as uncooked
But since we don’t eat the skin it really didn’t matter
Chicken was moist and flavorful
Will make curry chicken salad tomorrow
Thanks for sharing
My friend cooks chicken this was but builds a little rack of celery to keep the chicken out of the fat and add flavor
So I made my very first fauxtisserie chicken this weekend and I was so excited with the way it turned out! (Never thought I’d be this excited over a chicken!) It was juicy and flavorful and just fell off of the bone + it was pretty just like a rotisserie chicken! I took a shot at this recipe b/c whole chickens were on sale and I like to keep a supply of cooked, cut up chicken in my freezer for soups, enchiladas, casseroles, etc. When I roast them in the oven the white meat is dry, and anytime I tried them in the crockpot they were less than flavorful and looked rather sickly. But this is my new “go-to” recipe for whole chicken – and it’s pretty enough to serve as the main course! Only thing I think I’d try differently would be to spray my foil balls with a little non-stick spray before placing the chicken on them…nothing worse than sticky chicken foil balls! 🙂
Tried making this today. The chicken came out juicy and delicious. My only complaint is that the skin is inedible. It might taste good, but I can’t get past the texture. The skin really is my favorite part of a rotisserie chicken. I guess I’ll try roasting in the oven next time.
But – that won’t turn me off to your site. I just discovered it today, and I’ve found tons of recipes (and recipe ideas) I want to try.
I made this (first but NOT the last time) today, and had to tell you a funny story. Last night, I got the crockpot ready and set the herbs and spices out so I’d be all ready to go this morning. I took the kids to school, came back to get everything going, and found a note from my husband taped on the lid: “Yum, tinfoil soup! My favorite!” Ha!
Also, thanks for the VERY forgiving recipe. I accidentally had it on High nearly eight hours, and it was still tender, juicy and delicious. Thanks!
Eating this right now… Never had a chicken de-bone itself before, talk about fall off the bone, finger-licking good! used the juice to make a gravy over mashed potatoes and roasted cauliflower!
had to tell you, I made your fauxtissirie chicken on Monday, served it w/couscous and peas, used the broth that accumulated in the bottom of my crock pot for a white bean chicken chili (used frozen boneless/skinless chix thigh for that) on Tuesday, and finished up the last of the chicken breasts on a chicken and spinach pizza on Wednesday! this is a fabulous money saver recipe you have given me and i truly appreciate it! you two are amazing and inspiring.
The chicken I bought is 5 lbs and I had to jam it in to get it to fit. It is touching the crockpot on two sides. Is this going to cook as well if there isn’t as much room for the air to circulate?
So I’m totally a bachelor and like to cook but am really bad at it and never have time. My sister sent me this recipe because she knows I love rotisserie chicken and I finally made it today. All I can say it, IT WAS AWESOME! I loved how I came home from work and my house smelled amazing and the chicken was so incredibly tender and tasty. I made stove top stuffing (don’t hate, I love that stuff!) and corn to go with it and it was the best meal I have made for myself ever I think. I will totally be making this again soon. 🙂
I’ve found a really good recipe for oven roasted chicken if you don’t have the slow cooker like me.
http://artofmanliness.com/2011/02/25/kitchen-fundamentals-how-to-make-a-whole-roasted-chicken/
OK question – mine keeps falling apart – I go to lift it out and seriously all of it falls apart – bones and all – which makes getting to the meat kind of a pain – I’ve tried everything (including a disaster of sucking out the juice to keep it from getting “stewed” (I burned myself pretty bad doing this btw – so I do not recommend it) )
Honestly, that doesn’t bother me because it means it’s moist and tender and done. 🙂 BUT I totally get your point. I would actually try cooking it for just a little less time so everything isn’t quite to the falling apart stage, you know?
So I must say I love you ladies!! I made the fauxtisserie lemon herb chicken with green bean bundles and Garlic herb scalloped potatoes…It was amazing!!! So simple and feeds a ton. Only took me two hours to make everything in between interruptions and all that. I’m going to buy your book so I can have it on hand. Thanks again for sharing 🙂
I found this recipe about a month ago, and have made it once a week since then, for chicken salad, instead of buying (as I usually do) a rotisserie chicken with a tiny bit of white meat on it.
I can buy a very large chicken breast for under $3 at my store, and have heaps of perfectly-cooked and tender chicken meat, and I do get the crock pot full of broth out of it, too, for chicken soup. So, I’m saving $$ on the chicken and lots of money on the broth, which is quite expensive at the store.
McCormick sells a “rotisserie spice” now, which has the same mix as the stuff they sprinkle on the rotisserie chickens at the grocery store.
And happy ending – my dog loves the little chicken bits I pull off the bones after I make the broth. 🙂
Great work!
This is EXCELLENT!