Learn How Long To Cook A Whole Chicken In A Crockpot

You may be a bit confused about how long to cook a whole chicken in a crockpot

. Well, you are not alone. You'll get ten different answers from ten different cooks. Then, when you actually gather recipes, it gets even more confusing.

The answer varies depending on a great many things. That's the reason for the muddled answers. If you choose a recipe and try to turn it into a whole chicken recipe, you may get even more baffled. Normally, trying to adapt a recipe you pick will have you wondering where to start. So, let's start with figuring out the variables you have to look at when choosing to cook a whole chicken in your slowcooker:

The Term Whole Chicken - This is not as silly as it sounds. One person may use the term "whole chicken" to mean a chicken in its entirety, all the parts. Another person may mean a chicken that is not in pieces, aka "whole." A whole chicken can mean two parts of a halved chicken, four parts of a quartered chicken, or all the combined parts, even though they are cut up. Is that even more confusing? The term whole has to be translated to figure cooking times.

The Recipe - Cooking a whole chicken could have you envisioning a rotisserie style chicken. However, if you're thinking of a roast chicken with vegetables, you'll need to adjust your cooking time. A whole chicken in a crockpot rotisserie style, sans vegetables, will cook differently than a whole chicken with bulky vegetables.

The Chicken Preparation - In order to provide a little color and extra flavor, many people like to brown the chicken in oil before putting it in the crockpot. If you do, your chicken has begun to cook, so it won't have as long to cook in the crockpot. And, what about those times you put stuffing in your bird? That will always add more time in order to get the inside cooked all the way through.

The Bird Size - If you have a big six pound chicken, you're going to cook it longer than if you have a little three pound chicken. That's just common sense. However, you also have to consider how much room you have in your crockpot. If your six pound bird is squeezed inside a five quart crockpot, your cooking time will have to be increased. There isn't enough room around the chicken to let air and heat circulate.

The Crockpot Design - Do you have a brand new crockpot with extra insulation wrapped around to keep the heat in the pot where it belongs? Or are you still using the old metal pot that sits on top of the burner plate. Can you start your meal on high, then turn it to low to finish cooking? Is your cover one of the new ones that fits tight and even locks in place?

You want to know how long to cook a whole chicken in a crockpot? It's still confusing, isn't it. Normally, if you find a recipe you like that calls for chicken breasts, add about an hour to your time if you're using a whole, uncut chicken. This will vary, too, depending on all the other factors mentioned. But don't fret. Just go ahead and experiment and soon you'll have a nice collection of your own favorite crockpot recipes!

by: Susanne Myers.

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