I posted this photo of our dinner a couple nights ago on my Instagram account, and a bunch of you wanted the recipe!
My hubby & I are BIG fans of rotisserie style chickens that you can pick up already cooked at the grocery store. They always freak me out a little, because #1 you never know how long the chicken has been sitting there and #2 I read an article (or heard one) a while back that said that the grocery stores use the chickens that have just expired or are about to, so as to not let them go to waste… That scares me. So when we do buy the rotisserie chickens, I try not to wait till too late in the evening to do it.
Now that I found this super simple recipe for roasted chicken, this will be my go-to whole chicken method! Not only is it incredibly healthy (hello no butter!) but it’s just about the easiest crockpot recipe ever. And the flavor? It’s downright delicious. The chicken comes out crazy moist, tender and basically just perfect. It’s not the least bit dry! This recipe also produces a really delicious chicken stock that could be used for other yummy dishes.
Have I sang enough praises yet about this recipe? You just gotta give this one a try! It takes less than 10 minutes to prep… Hello easy weeknight (make before work) dinner.
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (I used approx. 4 lb young organic chicken)
1 lemon (sliced in half)
1 entire head of garlic (sliced in half)
Dry Rub:
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. lemon pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. black pepper (I prefer fresh ground)
1 tsp. thyme
Directions:
Rinse chicken and remove all innards. Pat chicken dry with clean paper towel. Mix together all ingredients in dry rub (feel free to add in any other herbs you may like- fresh is always great!) Rub spices all over outside of chicken (get underneath the wings!) and sprinkle some inside the cavity. Squeeze a little lemon juice from each lemon half inside the chicken cavity, then place lemon halves inside. Place garlic halves inside chicken as well (don’t bother peeling the lemon or garlic, just make sure to wash well before inserting.) Place chicken breast side down in crock pot and do NOT add any liquids, the chicken will make it’s own scrumptious stock. Cook on low 6-8 hours.
I started my chicken too late in the day, so I cooked on high for 1 hour, then turned to low for about 3 hours and then kicked it back on high while I prepared my side dishes.
Side note- I used a meat thermometer to check if it was done, and the internal temperature read way hotter than it needed to be, but it didn’t dry out at all! The meat was so moist.
This chicken does look really delicious! I actually have a whole chicken in the freezer right now and was planning on having it for dinner this Sunday. I will try out your recipe. Thanks for sharing!