Chicken
Lemon Herb Whole Chicken
A whole roast chicken out of a slow cooker. No oven, no basting, and the meat falls off the bone.
Serves6
Prep10 min
Low7 hr
High4 hr
Pot6 qt
What goes in
- 1 whole chicken, 4 to 5 lb, giblets removed
- 2 lemons, one sliced, one juiced
- 1 head of garlic, halved across
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary 路 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp butter, softened
- 2 tsp salt 路 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 4 balls of foil, to raise the bird
Raise it off the base
Four balls of crumpled foil under the chicken keep it out of the liquid, so the underside roasts rather than boils. Skip this and the bottom goes grey and slack.
How to make it
- Sit four balls of crumpled foil in the base of the pot and rest the chicken on them, breast up.
- Rub the softened butter all over the skin, then season with the salt, pepper and paprika.
- Stuff the cavity with the lemon slices, the halved garlic head, the rosemary and the thyme. Squeeze the second lemon over the top.
- Lid on. Low 7 hours or high 4 hours, until a thigh reads 165F.
- Lift the whole bird onto a board and let it rest 10 minutes before carving.
- For crisp skin, slide it under a hot grill for 4 to 5 minutes. The slow cooker will not crisp it for you.
Swap it
Dried herbs work, use 1 tsp each and rub them into the butter. Put quartered potatoes in the liquid underneath and they cook in the drippings.