Slow-Cooker Whole Chicken
Updated Jan. 11, 2024
- Total Time
- About 4 to 8 hours
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 3 ½ to 7½ hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 1whole (4- to 5-pound) chicken, trimmed of excess fat
- Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper
- 6large garlic cloves, peeled
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pot
- 1large onion (any variety), cut into ¼-inch slices
- 1large carrot, peeled and quartered lengthwise
- 2teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1teaspoon ground turmeric
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
498 calories; 35 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 16 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 38 grams protein; 578 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season it generously all over (inside the cavity as well) with 5 to 7 teaspoons of salt, depending on the weight of your bird, and about 2 teaspoons of pepper. If your chicken is smaller than 4 pounds, reduce salt to 3½ to 4 teaspoons. (This can be done up to 24 hours in advance and the chicken kept in the refrigerator, uncovered. Take the chicken out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking.) Place half of the garlic cloves inside the cavity of the chicken.
- Step 2
Drizzle the bottom of a 6- to 7-quart slow cooker with about 1 tablespoon olive oil. Arrange the onion slices in a single layer, and place the carrot sticks on top to create a rack for the chicken to rest on. Place the chicken on top of the carrot sticks, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and sprinkle the paprika and turmeric all over the top and sides of the chicken, including the nooks and crannies of the wings and the legs. Scatter the remaining garlic around the sides. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours, or on high for 3 ½ to 4 hours, until cooked through and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thick part of the thigh reads 155 to 165 degrees.
- If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can replicate similar results in the oven: Use a 6-quart Dutch oven (or similar oven-safe pot) and drizzle in ¼ cup water around the sides of the chicken (the slow cooker method does not need water). Slow roast, covered, at 300 degrees for 2 ½ to 3 hours, or until cooked through and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thick part of the thigh reads 155 to 165 degrees.
Private Notes
Comments
Whenever I slow cook a chicken I take the meat off the bones, put the bones back in the cooker, and fill about 3/4 full with water to make broth. It already has the onion, garlic, carrots in so I add a few whole cloves and a few dried peppers and set it for 18 hours on low. Strain it, chill it, skim the fat, and you have 4-5 quarts of broth ready for the freezer.
when in Baltimore two years ago I bought some ingredients called Old bay seasonings. I use that instead of salt and paprika. it works like a treat, whether slow cooking or air frying.
Cooking a turkey breast in the crock pot with a generous Old Bay spice blanket is a sure fire win. No broth, water, veg. Just the bone in turkey breast and Old Bay. Good call!!
I'm going to try this recipe this week. We are redoing our kitchen - our new cabinets are in, but it will be 3 weeks until we have counters and then another week before the backsplash is done and stove reinstalled. We have a temporary kitchen in my studio - double bowl stainless sink, microwave, coffee pot, electric skillet and crockpot. I like the suggestions in this recipe, and the comments, for giving some color to the skin.
If one uses a kosher chicken (which is already salted), I’m assuming you can skip the overnight brining… and if one needs more salt, add it at the end?
Cooked on high, 3.5 hours. Seasoned as instructed. Texture was okay, but a bit tougher than I like. It was also too salty for my taste. Skin comes out very weird and must be discarded — broiling will not help that! Chicken cooked this way is useful for sandwiches, chicken salad, enchiladas, soup, etc. Secondary uses. I would not serve this as-is, and would definitely not serve the vegetables it cooks with. They look very unappealing and are saturated in fat.