Slow-cooker Whole Chicken with Orange

While this more-or-less turned out, it’s definitely more of a learning experience than a recipe:

I wanted to make another whole chicken in my crockpot, especially because I had just used the dripping from the last one in my zucchini soup. I wanted to do something a little different, though, and so in looking at numerous recipes online, I decided to do my own thing with the following key features:

– Stuff the cavity with orange and apple quarters – apparently this helps keep it moist, and probably adds some flavor. I had way too many quarters to fit, so I stuck the rest around the chicken in the crock pot. I’m not sure this actually did anything…

– Mix herbs with coconut oil and spread it on the inside and outside of the chicken. This (or using butter instead of coconut oil) was recommended by several recipes, but it really didn’t work, because even though I had rinsed and dried the chicken as best I could, the coconut oil kept it from sticking to the skin, so I ended up having to put dollops around.

– The herbs I used were just a random assortment from my pantry which included: basil, coriander, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and a little orange zest from the oranges. Definitely follow some sort of recipe for at least the amount of herbs and spices because I did not use enough by a long shot!

– I didn’t use salt barely at all, and this was a mistake. I thought that chicken is inherently salty so it would be overkill, but apparently not.

– I placed it on a bed of chopped onion, celery, carrots, (and some dying mushrooms) same as the mustard seed chicken, because I liked how that one turned out. (Most of the recipes I looked at said to put it on tinfoil balls – sounds like a waste to me!)

– I cooked it in the crock pot on low overnight because I saw in one of the recipes that 8-10 hours was fine. I disagree – this was too long. It’s still fine, but a little overlooked.

– I broiled it in the oven after I took it out of the crockpot, same as the mustard seed chicken, which was a good idea.

The takeaways:
– Use salt
– Don’t use coconut oil or butter
– Use enough herbs and spices
– Consider a more cohesive flavor palate
– Don’t cook it too long
– Jury is still out on that fruit thing

One other thing: I got this chicken from a new place that apparently leaves on the feet and includes the head. If I thought dealing with past chickens was intense, this was a whole nother level!!