Rotisserie Chicken At Home

You know those nights when you just want to run in your local mega-grocer/pharmacist/home decor/appliance/hardware/tire shop oh the list goes on, to grab a rotisserie chicken and make dinner a bit easier on yourself? Yes. You know those nights. But what if you don't live near said mega giant superstore? Or possibly you may live near the store which must not be named but you refuse to darken their doors for ethical reasons you attempt to keep to yourself. Or maybe you had absolutely no intention of leaving the house at all to begin with and just want dinner to be easier because sometimes things just need to be easy!

If you happen to have the foresight to know its going to be one of those nights, or maybe you came across whole fryers on sale and said young chicken has been chilling in your fridge, here is a super simple way to turn it into a gorgeous golden rotisserie foul that can be used in a number of ways.

Here is what you need to gather:

-One whole fryer (I like Smart Chicken brand but to each their own)
- 3 tbsp. ghee or butter
- 1 tsp. smoked sea salt (regular will also work) plus a little more for the inside of the bird
- 1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp. herbs de provence
- 6 medium sized sheets of tinfoil
- slow cooker

Now depending on the bird you buy, you might have to remove any innards and truss it yourself. Smart Chicken brand makes it easy...nothing to dig out and they have done the trussing for you. Rinse the bird in cold water inside and out and pat dry. Salt the inside generously. Truss the bird with baker's twine if needed.

Take your 6 pieces of tinfoil and turn them into 6 balls of tinfoil. This is going to elevate the chicken in the slow cooker. Place the balls in the bottom of your slow cooker.

Melt the ghee or butter in a small bowl and add all the seasonings. Mix this and flip your bird over breast side down. Use a basting brush to coat the underside of the chicken. Move the fryer to the slow cooker, breast side up, position it atop the tinfoil balls so that it is not touching the bottom of crock. Continue to coat the bird until you have used all your seasoned ghee.

Set your slow cooker to low if you plan on being gone all day. 6-8 hours on low should do it. Otherwise if its lunch time or later and you just realized that you need to do something about feeding these people who also inhabit your home, set it on high for 4-6 hours.

Once done, move the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for about 10 minutes. From here you can do whatever you would normally do with your mega-mart bought rotisserie chicken. Feel free to play around with the seasonings. Making enchiladas out of your bird? Take out the herbs de provence and halve the paprika. Add in some cumin, chili powder, onion salt, and cilantro. You get the idea.

On this particular night I had no immediate plans for my bird. It was a Thursday evening and I knew my kids would be in and out with various activities, so I cooked it and set aside the breasts and drumsticks for them to grab when they were ready. Everything else I de-boned and stored in the fridge to use for tomorrow night's meal. And I may have been snacking while I was cutting it up. I've taken to observing the Catholic practice of no meat on Friday so while my kids and husband will enjoy this chicken with dinner tomorrow, I had to sneak some in tonight.  I'm thinking of making a yummy looking soup I found from Edie over at Life in Grace. I just finished her memoir, All The Pretty Things, and I highly recommend it. I'm thinking her Chipolte Pumpkin Soup sounds perfect for a Friday evening in Fall.