Beach House Crockpot Chicken
When we arrive at the beach house on a Friday evening, haven accomplished the grocery shopping, packing and helping D load the car, the last thing that I want to do is think about is making supper. This is when we sometimes grab a U bake pizza or shop at the deli on the way out of town. But last weekend J1 and J2 made a Crockpot supper of pulled pork and since I have an extra pot at home, I decided to bring it out to leave here permanently. I assembled the ingredients at about 8 in the morning, plugged it in and got on with my day of work.
Here’s a beach tip: I plugged in the pot outside and had it sitting on a wooden step (in the shade). This way, even this small appliance didn’t heat up the house. The only downside was that I was afraid that the amazing aroma would attract the bears that have been roaming around recently.
I served this with a leftover potato salad and made up a simple green salad when the roadside corn that I was hoping for did not materialize. Easy, peasy and hardly any dishes!
- 1 whole frying chicken
- 1 lemon
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 carrots, halved
- 2 celery stalks, halved
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 T chili powder or paprika
- sage leaves and rosemary branches or other “sturdy” herbs
- Stuff the whole lemon and garlic cloves in the cavity of the chicken and set aside.
- Place veggies in the bottom of the crock pot to create a cradle for the chicken.
- Rub the skin of the chicken with chili powder.
- Nestle the herbs around the birds.
- Cover and turn crock pot onto highest setting.
- About half way through your projected cooking time, reduce to low heat.
- When the chicken begins to fall apart, take the entire insert out of the heating element and place under the broiler until the skin has crisped up (about 10 minutes).
The key to crockpot chicken is adding moisture to the cooking process without the chicken “stewing” in the liquid. This can be accomplished with preparing a ledge out for hard veggies for the chicken to sit upon. If none are available, roll up balls of aluminum foil to raise the chicken from the bottom of the pot.
In addition to rubbing the seasonings directly into the flesh of the bird, surround it with fresh herb leaves.
One last tip: if you have one of the crockpot styles where you can lift the ceramic liner away from the element that heats up, do so and place the chicken in the ceramic pot right under the broiler and allow the skin to crisp up. Friday night Beach House dinner is done.
Kath’s quote: “One of the faults which a cook should most seriously guard against, is bad temper….It is in the power of the cook to do much for the comfort and prosperity of the family….Never let the family have reason to say — ‘The cook is always cross!’”-Sarah Josepha Hale, ‘The Good Housekeeper’ (1839)
Love-that is all.
