Whole Chicken in the Crockpot

This recipe is great if you like to have a bunch of cooked chicken throughout the week to use in salad, soups, tacos or just to eat as a meal. Pick the chicken clean of its meat and then throw the carcass back in your slow cooker overnight to make beautiful healthy bone broth afterward.

Ingredients:
1 3-4 lb whole organic chicken
3 TBS softened ghee
1 TBS minced fresh tarragon, parsley or chives (you can also put additional sprigs of whatever herbs you use inside the cavity of the chicken for aromatics)
Salt + Pepper
1 medium onion, chopped coarse
2-3 Medium carrots, chopped coarse


Instructions:
1. Mix 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, softened ghee and herbs together to "make a paste"
2. Check for organ meats/neck in the cavity of the chicken and discard if not using. Gently using your fingers, lift the skin around the breast and the thighs to form pockets, being careful not to tear the membrane around the perimeter of the breast. Insert 2 TBS of the paste into pockets, and rub the outside of the skin to distribute it evenly. Rub the outside of the chicken with the additional 1 TBS of paste and season with additional salt and pepper.
3. Place chopped onion and carrots on the bottom of slow cooker and position the chicken breast side down (this will yield a moister bird because the juices from the dark meat render down into the breast).
4. Cover and cook until chicken is tender, 4-6 hours on low, or until the breast registers 160 degrees F and the thighs register 175 degrees F on an instant read thermometer.
5. If serving entire chicken for dinner, you may want to crisp the skin. Heat your broiler to 550 degrees F. Position the top of the chicken 6 inches from broiler and broil for approximately 5 minutes, or until skin is brown and crispy.
6. Carve and use the chicken as desired.

To make the overnight bone broth with the chicken carcass, you can find the recipe here.

To use both the cooked chicken and the broth to make Chicken Soup, you can find the recipe here.

To use your cooked chicken and the broth to make Slow-Cooked Chicken Sauce with Tomatoes and Olives, you can find the recipe here.

To use your cooked chicken for Chicken Salad, you can find the recipe here.

To use your cooked chicken to make Barbecue Chicken, coat cooked chicken in a compliant barbecue sauce (like Tessemae's), top with carrot sticks and green onions and either serve in a butter lettuce "taco" or in between some sweet potato "buns".

To use your cooked chicken to make Chicken Tacos, you can find the recipe here.