Forget that store bought rotisserie chicken! This flavorful & juicy Basil & Garlic Slow Cooker Roasted Chicken slow cooks in your crock pot all day...
A big thank you to Hamilton Beach for providing me with their Set & Forget 6 Quart Programmable Slow Cooker and helping me bring you all this delicious recipe for a Basil & Garlic Slow Cooker Roasted Chicken.
I think by now it is very much apparent just how much I love cooking with a slow cooker. On average, I use my slow cooker at least twice a week all year round. Often more...
And I have tried making it all- from soups to the obvious pot roasts, to apple butter and even desserts (oh yes, you can totally bake in your slow cooker, folks!).
But one thing that has always intimidated me up was slow roasting an entire chicken in my slow cooker.
I have seen numerous slow cooker whole chicken recipes floating around out there and really wanted to give it go, but I just didn't feel very confident that it would turn out well.
Mainly I was afraid that the chicken wouldn't get cooked all the way through.
And how about that crispy skin we all love? How would the chicken crisp up in a slow cooker?
When I was given the chance to try the Hamilton Beach Set & Forget 6 Quart Programmable Slow Cooker that happens to come with it's own meat probe, I knew it was finally time to step up to the plate and give slow cooking a whole chicken a go. The probe pretty much ensured that I would cook the chicken all the way through- easy, peasy! :)
For my first attempt at a slow cooked whole chicken, I kept it simple with fresh basil, garlic, and butter and let me tell you, folks... The flavor in this Basil & Garlic Slow Cooker Roasted Chicken was amazing!
Basil & Garlic Slow Cooker Roasted Chicken
by
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 hours
Ingredients (1 whole roasted chicken)
- 1 (5-6 lb) whole chicken- giblets removed, rinsed & patted dry
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 large handful of fresh basil (about 20-30 leaves) + 1 whole sprig of basil
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- 16 oz of baby carrots
- 1 large onion, chopped
Instructions
In small bowl, combine the butter, basil leaves, and minced garlic. Rub this butter mixture directly onto the chicken under the skin, and then rub the remainder of the mixture over the skin.
Season the entire chicken, inside and out, with salt & pepper.
Place the 3 smashed cloves of garlic and the whole sprig of basil in the cavity of the chicken. Truss (tie together) the chicken legs with a piece of baker's twine.
Place the carrots and chopped onion into the bottom of the slow cooker. Place the prepared chicken on top.
Slow cook on High for 5 hours.
Check the temperature of the chicken by placing a probe into the drumstick. Be sure to avoid the bone. The temperature should reach around 165-170 when completely done.
Preheat your oven to 450. Transfer the chicken to the a baking dish. (If you wish for the carrots and onions to have more of a roasted taste, add them around the chicken in the baking dish.) Bake for about 10 minutes or until the skin of the chicken starts to crisp up and turns a golden brown.
Let the chicken rest for about 10 minutes before carving.
Enjoy!
**Don't throw out the bones, cartilage, and fattier pieces of meat when picking off the leftover good meat from the chicken after dinner! Place them in a sealable container or baggie and refrigerate. I have a super simple recipe you can use them in that I will be sharing with you very soon on the blog! :)
The meat on this chicken was so juicy and tender. It literally fell right off the bone which made the chore of picking off the leftover meat from the chicken after dinner incredibly easy.
And to get that crispy, golden skin that most of us love on an oven roasted chicken? I simply popped the whole thing in a very hot oven for a few minutes. It did the trick!
But if you don't eat the skin or are just cooking the chicken for the meat, you can skip this step in the recipe.
What slow cooker recipe are intimidated of?
Do you think if you had a Hamilton Beach Set & Forget 6 Quart Programmable Slow Cooker you would finally take on that recipe challenge? ;)
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