Did you know that you can make your own “Rotisserie Chicken” in the slow cooker? It’s an easy no-brainer, and saves you a trip to the grocery store to pick one up. The advantage to making the rotisserie chicken at home is that you can do either a whole chicken like they do in the grocery stores, or just your favorite pieces, like all breasts. Since no human in my house will eat dark meat, I prefer to use bone-in breasts, so the cats don’t get fat (they are the only ones who like thighs and legs). If you use a colored seasoning, the finished chicken comes out beautiful and golden, just like at the store, and most important, moist and flavorful. A whole chicken takes only 2-4 hours to cook (depending on size), and hands-on time is about 10 minutes.

Kari Coates, a friend who likes to spend a minimum amount of time in her kitchen, told me about this easy way to make chicken, and I have adapted it using my own spices. My favorite rub for this chicken (and smoked brisket and ribs, as well as pork butt or shoulder) is a spicy rub I adapted from an old recipe; it makes the rotisserie chicken come out so that it looks like it’s been roasted in the oven.

8 Servings

1 4 to 6 pound whole chicken (or the equivalent of bone-in chicken pieces)
1 to 2 tablespoons Spicy Dry Rub

1. Tear off several pieces of aluminum foil and crinkle them up.
2. Rub as much of the dry rub onto the chicken as possible.
3. Place the chicken in the slow cooker on top of the aluminum foil.
4. Set the slow cooker to low, cover, and let cook 2-4 hours or until cooked through, but still moist.
5. Spicy Dry Rub: Mix the following:
   1 1/4 cups white sugar
   1 1/4 cups brown sugar
   1/2 cup salt
   1/4 cup black pepper
   1/4 cup paprika
   3 tablespoons cayenne pepper
   2 tablespoons garlic powder
   2 tablespoons onion powder
   
   Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 389 Calories from Fat 203
Percent Total Calories From: Fat 52% Protein 47% Carb. 1%

Nutrient Amount per Serving
Total Fat 23 g
Saturated Fat 6 g
Cholesterol 182 mg
Sodium 205 mg
Total Carbohydrate 1 g
Dietary Fiber 0 g
Sugars 0 g
Protein 46 g

Vitamin A 22% Vitamin C 1% Calcium 0% Iron 16%