Source video by Natashas Kitchen on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.
Natasha's Instant Pot whole chicken adapted for the slow cooker. The bird is rubbed inside and out with a butter mixed with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika and minced fresh rosemary and thyme, with a squeeze of lemon juice stirred through. Half a lemon and four garlic cloves go in the cavity, and the chicken sits on a rack above a cup of low sodium chicken broth. After the slow cook the bird is moved to a tray and grilled briefly for a crisp salty skin, then carved and served with the pan juices spooned over mash or rice.
Slow cooker notes: Source is a 6 quart Instant Pot recipe: 24 minutes high pressure plus 15 minute natural release. Adapted to slow cooker by cooking the seasoned chicken on Low 6 to 7 hours or High 3 to 4 hours until juices run clear, with the same flavoured butter, lemon and garlic. Liquid kept at one cup low sodium chicken broth as in the source, but slow cookers retain more liquid so the pan juices will be thinner and may want reducing on the hob before serving as gravy. The transcript does not detail a separate gravy method beyond pouring the pan drippings over the chicken, so the gravy step is left as 'use the pan juices'. The final grill step under a hot oven for crisp skin is retained from the source.
Ingredients
- 1 wholewhole chicken, giblets removed, patted dry
- 2 tspfine salt
- 0.25 tspblack pepper
- 1 tsponion powder
- 1 tspgarlic powder
- 0.5 tsppaprika
- 1 sprigfresh rosemary, leaves stripped and minced
- 1 sprigfresh thyme, leaves stripped and minced
- 115 gunsalted butter, melted
- 1 tbsplemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 240 mllow sodium chicken stock
- 0.5 wholelemon, the squeezed half is fine
- 4 clovesgarlic cloves
- salt, pepper and paprika (add late)
- fresh rosemary or thyme sprigs, to garnish (add late)
Method
Remove the bag of giblets from the cavity if present, then pat the whole chicken dry all over with kitchen paper.
~2 minPlace the chicken breast side up and, starting from the drumstick end, loosen the skin over the breast using the back of a spoon. Take care not to tear the skin, you want a pocket for the flavoured butter.
~3 minIn a small bowl combine 2 tsp salt, 0.25 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp garlic powder and 0.5 tsp paprika.
~2 minStrip the leaves from one sprig of rosemary and one sprig of thyme, mince them together and stir into the seasoning mix.
~3 minPour in 115 g melted unsalted butter and 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice. Stir to combine and set aside.
~2 minPour 240 ml low sodium chicken stock into the base of the slow cooker. If your slow cooker has a rack or trivet, sit it in the pot so the chicken cooks above the liquid.
~2 minSit the chicken on the rack breast side up. Stuff the cavity with the half lemon (squeezed is fine) and 4 garlic cloves.
~2 minGive the butter mixture a quick stir, then pour half of it under the loosened breast skin and massage gently to spread it evenly. Pour the remaining half all over the top of the chicken.
~3 minCover and cook on Low for 6 to 7 hours or on High for 3 to 4 hours, until the juices run clear and a thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh reads 75C.
Carefully lift the chicken out using the rack, letting the juices drip back into the pot. Transfer to a foil lined baking tray and season the top lightly with extra salt, pepper and a little more paprika for colour.
~3 minSlide the tray onto the centre rack of a very hot oven and grill (grill) for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the skin is golden and crisp. An air fryer at high heat for about 5 minutes also works.
~5 minRest briefly, then carve and serve. Spoon the pan juices from the slow cooker over the chicken, mash or rice. Garnish with fresh rosemary or thyme sprigs if you like.
~5 min