Whole Chicken in a Crockpot

Frank let me sleep in this morning while he finished cleaning up from our Chinese New Year celebration last night.  We had a great time and dinner was very successful.  I will be sharing some of the recipes with you but, as is often the case when I'm entertaining, pictures are scarce.

We spent the day today at the Home and Garden show.  We have several companies coming out in the next couple of weeks to give us estimates on new windows for the sunroom.  Before we left I put dinner in the crockpot. Tonight's dinner was scheduled to be Pot Roast but I now have a meeting to attend on Tuesday afternoon so we are now going to Aunt Irene's in the evening instead of at lunchtime.  I decided to save the pot roast to take over there so I moved Wednesday's chicken dinner to tonight.

I seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper, filled the cavity with onion, carrot and celery and placed it in the slow-cooker with about 3 cups of chicken broth.  Turned it on low and out the door we went.

When we got home this is what was waiting for us.  This is not a recipe to use if you want nice crispy skin, but if you are going to discard the skin anyway, this is a perfect recipe to cook your whole chicken while you are gone or busy.

I sliced up some of the breast meat and served it along with salad, sauerkraut pierogi and corn for dinner tonight. 

The broth was strained into a container and placed in the refrigerator.  The rest of the meat was removed from the bones and reserved for lunch during the week.  I have a few ideas about what to make with it and will be posting those recipes in the coming days.

Whole Chicken in a Crockpot

1 whole chicken

salt and pepper to taste

1 small onion

1 carrot

1 stalk celery

3-4 c. chicken broth

Wash chicken and season inside and out with salt and pepper.  Quarter the onion, halve the carrot and celery and place inside the cavity of the chicken.  Place the chicken in the crockpot and pour the chicken broth around it.  Cook on low for 6-8 hrs. Remove chicken from crockpot to a cutting board. It will be very tender, falling off the bone and coming out in pieces.  Discard the vegetables and skin. Strain the broth into a container. Remove the meat from the bones.  You are now able to enjoy this chicken immediately or use it, along with the broth, for soups. stews and casseroles.  Print Recipe