This slow cooker chicken will turn out amazingly juicy, tender and ready to serve your family with little clean up. Getting a perfectly cooked, juicy whole chicken out of a slow cooker is actually much easier than it sounds. The trick to getting a juicy chicken was to place the chicken in the slow cooker upside down.

Put the rub all over the outside and inside the chicken is the main key ingredient to giving it that flavorful kick it needs. Many will place onions, celery and apples to help induce more flavor. Here at Eat Out Loud, we have used a warm spiced rub not only to the outside but the inside as well. And what makes it even better of f a recipe is that it’s slow cooked. Low and slow is the way to go to get your bird done with little time spent basting it so you can enjoy much more quality family time.

Here are the 2 steps needed to get your slow cooker chicken going.

Slow Cooker Chicken: Step 1

First, it put the lean breast meat underneath the fattier legs and thighs, so that as the juices and fat rendered from the thighs, they dripped over the breast meat. Our whole “roast” chicken is flavored with a fragrant, warm spice rub. To make the spice blend, we combined garam masala, chili powder, garlic, salt, and pepper. But when we simply rubbed the chicken with the spice mixture, we were disappointed with the results. The meat had weak flavor at best, and, even after hours in the slow cooker, the spices had a raw, harsh flavor. We found that the solution was to microwave the spices with a little oil to bloom their flavors before rubbing them onto the chicken.

Slow Cooker Chicken: Step 2

Second, as the juices pooled in the bottom of the slow cooker, the breast was submerged, further helping the lean meat to retain moisture. Distributing a flavorful paste (or sauce) both over and under the skin of the chicken ensures the best taste. To do this, loosen skin from over thighs and breast and rub half of paste directly over meat. Spread remaining paste over skin of entire chicken.

Drum Roll Please….

Now our chicken was moist and juicy and had the bold, warmly spiced flavor we were hoping for. Ready to carve the slow cooker roast chicken!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• Salt and pepper
• 1 (4 1/2- to 5-pound) whole chicken, giblets discarded

DIRECTIONS

1. Microwave oil, chili powder, garam masala, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper in bowl, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 1 minute; let cool slightly.
2. Use your fingers to gently loosen skin covering breast and thighs of chicken; place half of paste under skin, directly on meat of breast and thighs.
3. Gently press on skin to distribute paste over meat.
4. Spread entire exterior surface of chicken with remaining paste and place chicken, breast side down, in slow cooker.
5. Cover and cook until breast registers 160 degrees and thighs register 175 degrees, 4 to 5 hours on low.
6. Transfer chicken to carving board, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 15 minutes.