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Post by anxiousmom on Oct 10, 2015 23:22:49 GMT
Under normal circumstances I would either boil or roast a whole chicken, but I am just going to shred the thing when it is done, so I really don't care how it is done. I thought I might shake things up a bit and make it in the crock pot-but in all that I *have* done in a crock pot, I haven't ever made a whole chicken.
Anyone want to walk me through it? Like how long? Add water or not? If I am going to debone and shred the meat, I don't particularly want it overly spiced because it will go in various dishes-but salt and pepper for sure, anything other ideas?
Or is this just too much work for what I plan on doing with it in the end?
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lesley
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Post by lesley on Oct 10, 2015 23:28:23 GMT
I often throw a chicken in the slow cooker (not literally you understand...) I add about 20fl oz of liquid, usually a mix of chicken stock and white wine or cider. I'll add whatever fresh herbs I might have, or dried thyme, bay leaves or tarragon. I usually cook it on high for about 4-5 hours, but sometimes it's on low for 6-7 hours. As you can tell, I'm not very scientific about it!  I think this is the best way to cook it if you're going to shred it, because it stays moist and falls off the bone. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2015 23:31:07 GMT
I'd put about a cup or two of water (or a can or two of commercial chicken stock) in, a rib of celery, a mid sized carrot, a quartered onion and a couple cloves of garlic (whole) let it cook for 6-8 hours. High on my crock isn't overly hot.
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marianne
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Post by marianne on Oct 10, 2015 23:35:03 GMT
Not too much work at all; as a matter of fact, for shredding or cutting up, I think it's the best way to do it. I just season it, stick an onion in the cavity (or you could use lemon,) plop it in the crockpot, and cook on low until the little thingy pops up (probably about 6-8 hrs depending on your pot.) No water, no liquid - no muss, no fuss, it cooks well in its own juices. Perfect for what you want to use it for.
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Post by Linda on Oct 10, 2015 23:42:18 GMT
I'm obviously in the minority but I hate doing bone-in chicken in the crockpot because I detest picking all those little bones OUT of the chicken when it falls apart during cooking. I would MUCH rather roast it, carve it and then chop or shred from there.
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Post by anxiousmom on Oct 10, 2015 23:51:52 GMT
Sounds like I might as well give it try. It might be a good idea as an experiment anyway-since it just going to be used in casseroles and whatnot- before I tried it as a dinner that I serve someone else.  |
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caro
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Post by caro on Oct 11, 2015 0:14:55 GMT
I cooked a turkey in my crock pot one Thanksgiving. The breast meat sliced just fine and I kind of shredded the rest. I added a little chicken stock and seasoned the cavity so the meat wouldn't taste bland.
Give it a try.
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Post by Jockscrap on Oct 11, 2015 12:46:52 GMT
It's a while since I've done a chicken in the slow cooker, but I don't add water and I remove the skin first. A lot of juices come out of the chicken during the cooking process, and the skin goes pretty slimy and yucky. It would be a great way to do shredded chicken as the meat virtually shreds itself when you lift the chicken out of the pot.
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styxgirl
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Post by styxgirl on Oct 11, 2015 14:20:50 GMT
I'm obviously in the minority but I hate doing bone-in chicken in the crockpot because I detest picking all those little bones OUT of the chicken when it falls apart during cooking. I would MUCH rather roast it, carve it and then chop or shred from there.
My go-to way of cooking chicken was in the crockpot and I get what you're saying about the bones! Crockpot chicken is so moist it does fall apart from the bones!
Last weekend I roasted one in the oven in a Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker. It was faster and the chicken was very good! It was not dry and was still tender.
All I did when cooking in the crock pot was to add about 1 cup of water to the bottom. Wash and dry the whole chicken and put my favorite seasonings on it. I use mostly Head Country.
Either way it turns out good! Mmmmmmm!
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Dani-Mani
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Post by Dani-Mani on Oct 11, 2015 14:49:29 GMT
I wrap it in foil.
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mlana
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Post by mlana on Oct 11, 2015 15:10:53 GMT
Try cooking it breast side down for moister white meat. I line the bottom of my crock with potatoes, onions, and celery so the chicken isn't sitting on the bottom of the crock. I add a cup of stock, then let it cook on low for about 4 hours.
If I want to slice the breast, I start checking the internal temp at the 3 hour mark and I pull it as soon as it reaches the done temp. After resting for a few minutes, I remove the breast meat, then put the chicken back in the crock breast side up. I let the chicken continue cooking until it's fall apart done.
Marcy
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Grom Pea
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Post by Grom Pea on Oct 11, 2015 17:20:25 GMT
Do you already have the raw chicken? If not I'd skip this altogether and get a rotisserie chicken from Costco or the grocery store. It's cooked and perfect for shredding and probably cheaper than a raw chicken oddly. The last time i made a while raw chicken was for a bbq, and it was half the size of a cooked Costco rotisserie chicken and more expensive!
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Post by lucyg on Oct 11, 2015 22:12:34 GMT
I've actually never done a whole chicken in the crockpot, but I would totally give it a try. Bookmarking yet another pea recipe thread. Thank you!
(I can get a nice, whole 5-lb chicken at Trader Joe's for around $8, which is more than a cooked chicken at Costco but also a lot larger. I do both, depending on my mood.)
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Post by elaine on Oct 11, 2015 23:47:17 GMT
Do you already have the raw chicken? If not I'd skip this altogether and get a rotisserie chicken from Costco or the grocery store. It's cooked and perfect for shredding and probably cheaper than a raw chicken oddly. The last time i made a while raw chicken was for a bbq, and it was half the size of a cooked Costco rotisserie chicken and more expensive! Our Costco now sells vacuum-sealed 2-lb packages of shredded rotisserie chicken, so you don't even have to shred it yourself any more! It is yummy and I divide it up into cup-sized bags and freeze what I'm not using immediately to add to future dishes. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2015 1:10:43 GMT
I do this recipe. Love it! I don't do the overnight thing anymore. Sticky Chicken |
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Post by AussieMeg on Oct 12, 2015 3:10:00 GMT
I've done a whole chicken in the crock pot before and I didn't add any liquid. I never add liquid for beef or lamb either, because so much comes out during cooking.
I cook up a whole chicken every Sunday so I can shred it for lunches during the week. I just poach it in a big pot. It's a lot quicker than using a crock pot.
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PLurker
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Post by PLurker on Oct 12, 2015 4:00:15 GMT
Whenever I cooked chicken just to cook and shred I've added little to no water. It's own juices do the job.
But one of our favorite ways is a seasoned chicken,(salt and pepper is enough) a cup or so of uncooked rice and diced carrots and celery with a couple cups water
and cooked until tender. The rice is so good as it absorbs the chicken juices, too. Less water if you like firmer rice, more for softer. I would often go with less water and add more in the end if rice was too firm as you can add water to rice but can't take it out. This is one of the times I prefer the rice softer because it absorbs such flavor.
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marianne
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Post by marianne on Oct 12, 2015 5:15:23 GMT
I do this recipe. Love it! I don't do the overnight thing anymore. Sticky Chicken I've been doing the sticky chicken recipe for years... it's pretty much our go-to recipe. We love it as well.  |
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keithurbanlovinpea
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Post by keithurbanlovinpea on Oct 12, 2015 12:20:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2015 13:49:18 GMT
It's a while since I've done a chicken in the slow cooker, but I don't add water and I remove the skin first. A lot of juices come out of the chicken during the cooking process, and the skin goes pretty slimy and yucky. It would be a great way to do shredded chicken as the meat virtually shreds itself when you lift the chicken out of the pot.  |
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Post by STBC on Oct 12, 2015 14:30:38 GMT
Saving my spot in this thread for recipes and cooking tips. I never have good luck making chicken in the crock pot...
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Post by anxiousmom on Oct 12, 2015 21:38:31 GMT
Thanks guys!
I plopped my chicken yesterday in the crock pot, added a little water (salt and pepper too) and let it go.
I guess it was okay. I put it on high for a couple of hours and maybe that was a little too long? I thought it was a little dry, not as moist as I thought it would be. It will be fine in the long run because I am using it for other things, but I sure would like to know what I did wrong in case I try it again. Maybe I should have done it on low for longer?
I do have some nice broth though.
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Post by MadamG2U on Oct 13, 2015 16:27:51 GMT
These are some really good recipes. I have a large package of chicken legs. Has anyone ever done chicken legs in the crockpot?
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Post by elaine on Oct 13, 2015 16:56:07 GMT
Thanks guys! I plopped my chicken yesterday in the crock pot, added a little water (salt and pepper too) and let it go. I guess it was okay. I put it on high for a couple of hours and maybe that was a little too long? I thought it was a little dry, not as moist as I thought it would be. It will be fine in the long run because I am using it for other things, but I sure would like to know what I did wrong in case I try it again. Maybe I should have done it on low for longer?I do have some nice broth though. Yes! Low and slow is how you want to cook meat and poultry if you want it to be tender. Much much better to cook it 6-8 hours on low. |
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Post by lucyg on Oct 13, 2015 19:33:10 GMT
Thanks guys! I plopped my chicken yesterday in the crock pot, added a little water (salt and pepper too) and let it go. I guess it was okay. I put it on high for a couple of hours and maybe that was a little too long? I thought it was a little dry, not as moist as I thought it would be. It will be fine in the long run because I am using it for other things, but I sure would like to know what I did wrong in case I try it again. Maybe I should have done it on low for longer? I do have some nice broth though. I have a 5-lb chicken defrosting for tomorrow, and I want clarification on exactly what you did wrong.  Did you just cook your chicken for two hours on high total time, or do you mean you turned it down after that and continued cooking on low? |
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Post by deshacrafts on Oct 13, 2015 19:42:07 GMT
Thanks guys! I plopped my chicken yesterday in the crock pot, added a little water (salt and pepper too) and let it go. I guess it was okay. I put it on high for a couple of hours and maybe that was a little too long? I thought it was a little dry, not as moist as I thought it would be. It will be fine in the long run because I am using it for other things, but I sure would like to know what I did wrong in case I try it again. Maybe I should have done it on low for longer? I do have some nice broth though. I put some seasoning (usually thyme, rosemary, crushed garlic, salt and pepper) in the cavity add a little water to the bottom, so it doesn't stick and put it on low. I will do this before I go to work sometimes so it will cook for 9 or more hours. Falls apart and is very moist. |
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Post by anxiousmom on Oct 13, 2015 19:43:59 GMT
Thanks guys! I plopped my chicken yesterday in the crock pot, added a little water (salt and pepper too) and let it go. I guess it was okay. I put it on high for a couple of hours and maybe that was a little too long? I thought it was a little dry, not as moist as I thought it would be. It will be fine in the long run because I am using it for other things, but I sure would like to know what I did wrong in case I try it again. Maybe I should have done it on low for longer? I do have some nice broth though. I have a 5-lb chicken defrosting for tomorrow, and I want clarification on exactly what you did wrong. Did you just cook your chicken for two hours on high total time, or do you mean you turned it down after that and continued cooking on low? Looking at all the hints and what elaine said, I think where I went wrong is that I cooked it on high the whole time-probably about 4 hours (and it was 5ish pound chicken.) I should have cooked it for longer on low. If I do it again, I am going to do it on low and check it after four or five hours. What did work out well though was that I put about two thirds cup water in the bottom and came away with some lovely stock. It is pretty and brown and gelled just like a stock would be. I don't use my crock pot very often, and the rare times that I do it is to keep things warm rather than cook anything. I never really got the hang of cooking with the silly thing which is why I asked here. |
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Post by deshacrafts on Oct 13, 2015 19:45:05 GMT
Thanks guys! I plopped my chicken yesterday in the crock pot, added a little water (salt and pepper too) and let it go. I guess it was okay. I put it on high for a couple of hours and maybe that was a little too long? I thought it was a little dry, not as moist as I thought it would be. It will be fine in the long run because I am using it for other things, but I sure would like to know what I did wrong in case I try it again. Maybe I should have done it on low for longer? I do have some nice broth though. I have a 5-lb chicken defrosting for tomorrow, and I want clarification on exactly what you did wrong. Did you just cook your chicken for two hours on high total time, or do you mean you turned it down after that and continued cooking on low? It needs to cook on low for more than a couple of hours. On the weekends I will put one in on low around noon time and let it cook all afternoon. We usually eat around 6 so it would cook for 5 1/2 hours. There is usually a lot of "juice" and the meat is really tender. A couple hours on high won't do it. You might as well cook it in the oven if you only have a couple of hours to cook it. |
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Post by lucyg on Oct 13, 2015 19:58:42 GMT
Thank you!
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