Crockpot Roast Chicken

472 people cannot be wrong. That was my first thought when I took a gander at this recipe for my crockpot. 472 people gave this recipe raving reviews. It's described by the poster as "tender, fall-off-the-bone chicken". That's exactly what I need, I remember thinking to myself. Chicken that will listen and be tender and fall off the bone. For me. I have a problem cooking meat. I routinely overcook it. I have no one to blame but myself and the fact that someone, somewhere is out to get me.

But this. This seemed foolproof. Even for me.

So yesterday morning I gathered the girls around and showed them how to clean and prepare a chicken. We got it ready and placed it in the cooker. I began checking with my meat thermometer around 4.5 hours later. It took about 5.5 hours for this to cook on low.

Then I took it out and put it under the broiler for about 2 minutes to sear the outside a bit. I sliced it up and served it alongside the carmelized onions, black beans and rhubarb oatmeal bars.

The girls were enamored with the chicken. So much so, that Liv woke up at 11pm, tip-toed downstairs, and requested more chicken. This doesn't happen when I bring home grocery store rotisserie. Holland said, "Mom! You made the chicken taste good!" Liv said, "This chicken is amazing! You can make this for your whole life!" Notice the astonishment at moist chicken in the Wieber home. That's okay, I was astonished, too.

Try this recipe tonight, and you'll be hard pressed not to sign up for square dance lessons--what with all the extra time on your hands.

Whole Chicken Crock Pot Recipe

Ingredients:

4 tsp salt

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 T. minced onion

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp white pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 large roasting chicken

1 C. sweet onion, chopped (I sliced mine)

1/2 of an onion to stuff in the cavity

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine the spices.

2. Remove any giblets from chicken and clean chicken. Pat dry.

3. Rub spice mixture onto the chicken. If time allows, place in resealable plastic bag the night before.

4. When ready to cook, put sliced onion in bottom of crockpot.

Add chicken. No liquid is needed, the chicken will make it's own juices. (After cooking, save the juices and use or freeze as chicken broth!)

5. Cook on low 4-8 hours. (If you have a pop-up timer, that would be helpful. Otherwise, I just lifted the lid and tested using my meat thermometer around the 5 hour mark. It took my cooker 5.5 hours to cook the chicken.

Notes: If you want to make up a whole batch of this rub (and if you plan on making this often, I recommend it) then triple or quadruple or octople, the spice recipe. Place in a jar, shake or stir well, and use 2-3/4 Tablespoons of spice mixture each time you roast a chicken. I almost skipped the onions on the bottom--but I am so so glad I didn't! They were the most amazing onions I have ever tasted...flavorful and carmelized. Next time I will add more and serve atop a side dish of rice or potatoes. Also, I really loved the spice blend. Holland, who fears anything even remotely spicy, commented that it was spicy, and then promptly asked for more. I was afraid it would be too spicy for her and it wasn't. It had the right combination of flavor and spice. I followed this recipe exactly as instructed except for the onion powder. Since I did not have any, I used a couple tablespoons of minced onion instead. I also did not apply the spice rub the night before but decided to wait until the next day because when you're a mom, some things must wait. The recipe above reflects my adaptations.