Whole Chicken for Shabbos daytime meal, in a Slow Cooker?

Mevater

Thu, Jun 24 2021, 10:14 pm

How would I make either a whole chicken or chicken bottoms, for the Shabbos daytime meal, in a Slow Cooker?

Id like to get a browned crispy skin if possible (I would probably brown it first in a frying pan), with chicken that doesnt burn or get dried out, sitting on top of either peeled potatoes or peeled sweet potatoes, that will probably be the right doneness to be served mashed.

Im not looking to use any unhealthy ingredients. Simple is best.

When would I put the chicken in, I assume on medium setting (not Keep Warm and not High)?

Do I add any liquid? Im not looking for a cooked taste, but it will be in the slow cooker for almost 20 hours, so Im wondering if it needs any liquid.

What can I do to make sure it doesnt burn or dry out?

Any tips will be appreciated.

Ive never done this before.

tia

ra_mom

Thu, Jun 24 2021, 11:39 pm

The bones will disintegrate and you'll end up with a mouthful.
A whole chicken comes out great when slow cooked for just 6 hours on low. More than 10 hours and it tastes like cholent and the bones mix in with the meat.

Amarante

Thu, Jun 24 2021, 11:45 pm

I have made a whole chicken in a crock pot. It is very tasty but it is not attractive. Because if the long cooking, the collagen in the bones melts which is one of the reasons it is so succulent. But it essentially collapses when taken out.

You season the chicken well. I actually season the night before so the flavors permeate. Since the skin is inedible, I remove it and as much of the visible fat as possible. I place it on top of three times foil balls to elevate slightly and then cook. No liquid necessary as it creates its own liquid from internal moisture and fat.

It will not look like a roast chicken in the oven. It is good for a family dinner but not a company dinner where you want attractive chicken. If you need to cook in a slow cooker, there are other foods that make more sense because they are intended to be braised so cooking in the slow cooker is just like cooking in the oven or simmering in the stove - like a pot roast, stew or brisket.

Rutabaga

Thu, Jun 24 2021, 11:48 pm

I know someone who used to make a whole chicken. She called it chamin, which is a type of Sephardic chulent I believe. She would stuff the cavity with a mixture of ground meat, rice, and diced onions and then sort of sew it closed. Then she would pour plain rice around the outside of the chicken and add spices and water. On Shabbos everyone would get a small portion of "inside rice" and some "outside rice" with their chicken. The bones definitely were soft and there certainly wasn't any crispy skin, but it was delicious.

Mevater

Fri, Jun 25 2021, 12:41 am

So unless I want a bone-y mush (dangerous), this idea doesnt work?

Any ideas for eating chicken that tastes baked, for Shabbos day meal, except for just warming a previously baked chicken on an inverted tin, on top of a blech?

essie14

Fri, Jun 25 2021, 12:44 am

ra_mom wrote:

This. 6-8 hours on low is perfect for roast chicken.
I do this during the week a lot. It's delicious.
Leave skin on, season underneath the skin. Put whole sweet potatoes wrapped in foil and sliced onions on bottom of crockpot. Then the whole chicken. No water. It cooks in it's own juices.

BadTichelDay

Fri, Jun 25 2021, 1:03 am

We do make stuffed whole chickens for Shabbat. But we let them cool down overnight and put them in the fridge and then warm up again for Shabbat lunch. That way they keep their shape and appearance, but the skin is soft, not crispy when warmed up. As by our rav, there's no problem warming up dry food, like chicken and meat.

ra_mom

Fri, Jun 25 2021, 1:08 am

Mevater wrote:

You can try boneless dark chicken with skin still attached on top of short grain brown rice (2.25 times the water you'd normally put in for rice). Everything needs extra seasoning. Skin needs extra paprika for color.

Mevater

Fri, Jun 25 2021, 1:14 am

ra_mom wrote:

Thanks!

On low (not keep warm)?

Mevater

Fri, Jun 25 2021, 1:50 am

andrea levy wrote:

You should try whatever you do NOT on Shabbat.

I never leave anything in a crockpot for as many hours as I need to on Shabbos.

etky

Fri, Jun 25 2021, 8:12 am

essie14 wrote:

Sounds yum.
Can I ask why the sweet potatoes are wrapped in foil? To keep them whole?
Would it work with thick slices of them mixed in with the onions? I like the idea of having all the flavors blend together...

Amarante

Fri, Jun 25 2021, 9:36 am

etky wrote:

In my experience, the bottom of the crock pot is filled with fat from the chicken even though I remove a lot of the skin and as much visible fat as I can.

I would not personally eat or serve anything that had essentially been cooked in oil. That is why I just use tin foil balls to elevate the chicken when I cook it in the crock pot. I have read recipes in which they add some onions or other savory stuff to add to the taste of the chicken but then they discard those items.

I guess wrapping the sweet potato - assuming it is also put in whole - is a way of cooking the sweet potato without having it cook in the grease of the chicken.

Amarante

Fri, Jun 25 2021, 9:45 am

essie14 wrote:

Yes, the foil keeps the sweet potatoes from disintegrating and from absorbing all the fat from the chicken.

And so the preparation is more to have a one dish meal without baking the potatoes separately and not that the potatoes actually absorb chicken flavors or vice versa the way one puts potatoes and vegetables in a stew where they are a part of the dish.

etky

Fri, Jun 25 2021, 9:57 am

Thanks everyone for the explanations.
Sounds like a good way to prepare chicken for Friday night w/o needing to turn on the oven.
I guess I could just turn off the pot and unplug it before Shabbat and it should keep warm enough until after shul if I don't lift the lid.