My First Crock Pot Whole Chicken

I have a little three quart crock pot and had a 5-6lb chicken. I knew the chicken wouldn't fit in there right away. I cleaned it under cold water and removed the giblet pack. Then I placed it into the crock pot and put tin foil over the top and the lid over that.

For seasoning I used salt, pepper, Rosemary, Thyme, and garlic. I also put a few tablespoons of lemon juice over the chicken. I let it cook on high for 3 hours or so and the legs were ready to move. Then I was able to stuff the whole chicken into the pot. I put it on low until I came home from work. The total cooking time was well over 8 hours. The chicken was fall of the bone and very moist.

I removed the chicken very carefully and used some of the juice to make a gravy. The gravy was very easy to make with some flour and butter browned and then the liquid whisked over it.


I thought it was a good idea if you don't have the two hours to waste for it to cook in the oven but not if you are a crispy skin fan. I don't think I could have lifted it out to put it under the broiler to crisp it up.

The pot pie idea will be a good one for that Thanksgiving turkey. For the gravy save the juices from the turkey. Combine two TBSP flour and 2 TBSP butter. Brown for a minute or so to cook out the flour taste. Add the turkey juices and stir to remove the lumps. The gravy will thicken pretty quickly. Lastly add the left over peas and carrots and season with salt and pepper. You could serve this over left over biscuits or even over stuffing.