Chicken Recipes for Crock Pot

Roasting chickens are, dollar for pound, the cheapest option to be found; especially when purchased in bulk from a wholesaler, as we do. This may be because many of us simply don't know any chicken recipes that use a whole chicken beyond the obvious Thanksgiving-style of roasting. Roasting has its place, make no mistake, but there are so many other ways to use a whole chicken. One of the best whole chicken recipes is the whole-chicken-in-a-crock pot method. This method is so easy; you may never go back to roasting again.

To prepare a whole chicken in a crock-pot, you must first make a simple spice rub with salt, pepper, sugar and the "mystery spice" of your choice- about a Tablespoon of each should do it. I prefer to use Chinese five-spice powder (which consists of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, fennel, and star anise) because it makes the house smell divine, but you can also use paprika or rosemary. Rub your spice mix all over the bird, place in the crock-pot, cover, and cook at the low setting for ten hours. By dinnertime, you will have a chicken that is fall-off-the-bone delicious, and that can be served with rice, shredded into a pasta sauce, or eaten as-is.

When dinner is over, don't clean your crock-pot out just yet. After you remove your chicken, leave the liquid, as it will be the base for your very own chicken stock, also made in the crock-pot. To make stock, put the chicken carcass back in the pot, along with any meat scraps. Add a few carrots, a stalk of celery, maybe an onion or two, and add enough water to cover the carcass. Cover, and set to low overnight. Not only will your house smell like Thanksgiving, but also in the morning you will have a crock-pot full of homemade stock. Strain the entire pot through a fine mesh strainer; discard all of the bones and vegetables. Place the bowl of strained stock in the refrigerator until it's cool, and has formed a thin crust of fat on top. Skim off the fat, portion your stock into ice-cube trays (for single servings), or into Ziploc Baggies for easy storage, and freeze. The next time a recipe calls for stock, or you're making a homemade soup, simply pull out a baggie and thaw in a pan of hot water for a few minutes.

And there you have it. With just a roasting chicken and a crock-pot, you have one of the simplest and most delicious chicken recipes of all time, one that can vastly simplify your busy life and give you the satisfaction of knowing you are feeding your family delicious, high-quality food. Click this link for more chicken recipes for crock pot.