Happy Friday! It's the last day of September, which means CROCKTOBER begins tomorrow!
It's the most wonderful time of the year....
In honor of the end of September, and the official beginning of Crock-Pot season, I'm hosting a giveaway for a brand-new (not even in stores!) Crock-Pot countdown, and copies of my three books. This is a 24-hour giveaway, and will end Tomorrow, October 1 (7am pacific), so make sure to enter today!
Today's recipe is one of my new favorite chicken recipes. I used a whole chicken, but this spice rub would work great on whatever you've got in the house---it might be really fun to do party drumsticks or wings, too.
I skin my chickens because of my weird issues. If you don't want to skin the bird, you don't have to. You can also insert a rack under the bird to let the drippings settle away from the bird, if you'd like. If you don't have a wire rack, you can make a foil snake (3 feet long, then twist up and create a coil at the bottom of the pot) and use that instead.
The chicken pictured was skinned as much as I could with poultry scissors, then cooked in the crock, breast-down. I didn't throw in potatoes or use a rack, but you certainly can if you'd like.
The Ingredients.
serves 4 to 6
4-5 pound whole chicken
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon all spice (not a typo, I used a whole tablespoon!)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 limes, juiced (about 1/3 cup)
The Directions.
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Skin the bird as much as you can (or don't. it's your choice.) and place it into the slow cooker. I prefer to cook my chickens upside down, to keep the breast meat as juicy as possible. Make sure all the giblets, neck, etc. are out!
In a small mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar and dry spices. Rub this spice and sugar mixture all over the bird, inside and out. Pour on the lime juice.
Cover, and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or on high for 4. Check doneness with a meat thermometer, or cut in to make sure the meat is no longer pink. Usually the bird falls completely apart--which is great. Moist, juicy, wondefully-flavored meat.
You can serve with lime wedges for a bit of extra citrus flavor, if you'd like.
mmm.
The Verdict.
My family and my friend Sharyl's family ate this chicken and we all loved it. Even my super-picky 10-year-old (I can NOT believe she's ten. #nothappyaboutthis) ate her serving and said it was good.
Sharyl asked for the recipe, which is always a good sign.
The bit of heat from the cayenne is there--- but not enough that any of the kids (six in all) complained. The pan drippings would be great to cook your rice in as a side dish.
more chicken? no problem!
Have a great weekend! Make sure to enter the giveaway!
- Follow RecipesDream
- Follow @us
