Rotisserie Chicken....at home.

I've had this recipe forever and make it at least 1 time a month. Even if I don't make it for dinner, I make it to have plenty of "shredded" chicken to put into the freezer for soups or casseroles that call for that type of meat. A 3-4 lb. chicken seems to yield about 4-6 cups of shredded chicken...or dinner for my family of 4 and 2-3 cups of shredded chicken! Its SUPER easy & a tad cheaper than the $5 rotisserie chickens you can buy at the grocery store, because quite often, the whole chickens are on sale for $.99/lb.

You can adjust the seasonings to fit your taste or for what you have on hand, as well as the onion. For example, I am making this tonight and have 1/2 onion in the frig I need to use, so I'll only use half. I've made it with and without the onion, and to be completely honest, I can't tell much of a difference between the two.  I also remove SOME of the skin, as it is what produces most the fat. You need SOME skin to produce the fat and juices the chicken cooks in and gives it its flavor, and if you are using the foil balls, it keeps it out of cooking directly IN the fat juices. When I eat it, I make sure I do not eat any skin, though, and I don't include any skin in the shredded chicken I freeze, although I do attempt to mix white and dark meats in whatever I'm freezing. (dark is fattier, but more flavorful.)

CROCKPOT ROASTED CHICKEN

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (approximately 3-4 pounds)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried leaf thyme
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup chopped onion (optional)

Directions

Put 3-4 balls of aluminum foil in the bottom of the crockpot (this creates a rack so the chicken doesn’t soak in its own juices).

Wash chicken inside & out (removing anything inside) and pat dry.

Sprinkle seasoning of your choice on the chicken.

Fill the cavity with the chopped onion.

Place the chicken in, breast side down, and cook on low for six to eight hours.

(or high for 3-4 hours)