Whole Fryer Chicken {SLOW COOKER RECIPES}

Chicken is very popular around my house, but unfortunately the cost of it has caused us to limit how much we actually get to eat it.  I try to buy it when it is on sale so that I can freeze it and store it for later.  We enjoy eating the leg quarters (the cheapest chicken out there) and we also enjoy the whole fryer chickens.  By cooking the whole chickens, we actually end up having a bunch left over for the rest of the week for my husbands lunches.  This actually turns out to be a money saver in the end, especially if I can get a fryer chicken for less than $4.00 (this is when I stock up on them in my freezer!).

Cooking a fryer chicken in the slow cooker is one of the easiest meals you can make for your family.  It is also one of the juiciest ways you can cook a chicken.  This is one of my families favorites when it comes to chicken dinners!  The best part...all you need is the fryer chicken and the spices of your choosing!

Ingredients:

• Whole Fryer Chicken (unfrozen --- it is not advised to put frozen chicken in a slow cooker because the slow, low temperatures actually provide the right environment for bacteria to grow)
• Lemon Pepper Seasoning
• Parsley
• 1 sliced onion (optional)

Whole Fryer Chicken

**NOTE --- you can choose to "spice" your chicken with whatever spices you choose.  Sometimes I will use the following spice mix (found on "Enchanted Mommy") instead of the ones listed above (these are also VERY tasty!):

• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 2 teaspoons of paprika
• 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon of onion powder
• 1 teaspoon of thyme
• 1 teaspoon of white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

Directions:

Rinse the fryer chicken, being careful to remove the chickens insides and discard of them.  Place the whole chicken in to the slow cooker.  You can also line the bottom of the slow cooker with sliced onions if you want.  This is a good addition, but most of the time I forget to pick up an onion at the store so I am not ever able to do this!

Rinsed and ready for seasoning

Once the chicken is placed in the slow cooker, cover the entire chicken with the spices of your choosing.

All dressed up!

Almost done...you can see the juices it creates on its own

Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 4-8 hours.  I have found that 7 hours is the magic number in my slow cooker.  Because all chickens and slow cookers are different, you will need to check the internal temperature of the chicken to be sure it is cooked all the way through.

***NOTE:  There is no need to add any sort of juice to the crock pot.  As you can see below, the chicken itself makes enough juice on its own (see above picture)!

All done!

As you can see it just falls off the bone!!

Serve with a side of rice and a veggie and you are good to enjoy a delicious easy chicken meal!

Give it a try and let me know what spices you tried with it!