Hellobee

I may be more than a little late to the game, but I am FINALLY the proud owner of a slow cooker. For a long time, I felt like I couldn’t justify the real estate it would take up in the kitchen, especially since I was usually home throughout the day and could easily pop a chicken in the oven and get back to work (or play!). My life has slowly shifted, though; I’m often working outside the home, and when I’m with my kids we are out and about more, thanks to the waning of naps.

I’ve barely tapped into the slow cooker’s potential, but my first series of experiments was an immense success. I’ve long wondered about the practicality of cooking a whole chicken in a slow cooker and am happy to report that although very different from a roasted chicken, a slow cooker chicken is just as tasty. Today I’m sharing the process and some tips to making easy, delicious whole chicken and chicken stock in the slow cooker.

Let me start by saying a slow cooker chicken isn’t terribly pretty. You’re basically steaming or braising the bird, depending on how you approach it, so the skin does not get brown and crispy. I chose not to add any liquid to the slow cooker, in an attempt to make this dish as simple as the weeknight roast chicken recipe I posted with my weekly meal planning tips. So, I generously salted the chicken, trussed it for photo’s sake, and placed it in the slow cooker on low all day.

The result? Falling-off-the-bone tenderness. The chicken almost fell apart as I carefully scooped it onto a cutting board, and I couldn’t help but pull off pieces of meat to snack on while I carved it. Speaking of which, carving is a generous term for how to handle this situation. Since it was already falling apart, you could pretty much shred the meat on the spot or separate at the joints with your fingers, once it’s cooled enough to handle.

I had to admit I missed the crunchy skin of the roasted version, though, so I carefully separated the dark meat to fry separately. Again, not the prettiest result but SO satisfying. The skin crisped up even better than in the oven, and since cooking the chicken through happened while I was away, this was a quick step to an awesome dinner.

I knew that next I would make stock with the leftover carcass and vegetable scraps from the freezer, but it was only at this moment it dawned on me the genius of this method: I could go straight from cooking the chicken to making stock without washing the slow cooker! I strained the stock the following morning and followed it up with a single cleaning. This worked well for me because I was home long enough the following day to let the stock cool before moving it to the refrigerator – depending on your routine you may need to do this going into the weekend or save cooking the stock until the following day to ensure the liquid is cooled almost to room temperature before moving it into the fridge.

It feels so good to have my first slow cooker project under my belt, and now I’m excited to see how else I can take advantage of this tool’s convenience. Anything in particular you’d like me to tackle next?

Slow Cooker Whole Chicken

1 whole chicken (4-5 pounds), giblets removed
salt

Generously salt the entire outside of the chicken. If you’d like, you can truss the bird, although this is not necessary. Place in the slow cooker, cover, and cook on high for 8 hours.

Carefully transfer the cooked chicken (I used two spatulas) from the slow cooker to a cutting board. Wait 10 minutes, then carve or pull apart the meat.

If desired, coat the bottom of a skillet with oil and place over high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the carved meat, skin-side down, and cook just until the skin is browned and crispy. Flip, season with a pinch of salt, and brown the second side.

Slow Cooker Chicken Stock

Chicken carcass, plus reserved neck if included
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon salt
3 bay leaves
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 star anise
1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Frozen vegetable scraps, or:

• handful fresh parsley
• 3 celery stalks
• 2 carrots
• 1/2 onion, thickly sliced

Water

If making stock immediately following cooking the chicken, leave any liquid release during cooking in the slow cooker. Add all the ingredients and fill to the maximum suggested by manufacturer. Cover and cook on low for 12 hours. Strain out solids using a fine mesh sieve and cool to room temperature before refrigerating or freezing.