Apparently cooking a whole chicken is harder than it might seem

[joelsgirl]

Because I was trying to pull the guts from its poor, severed neck, apparently. I could see the little neck vein or whatever and kept assuming THAT was part of the guts which needed to be removed. So seconds before I ripped its chest apart, I thought to myself, "Hmmmm, which end of the chicken is significantly bigger?" And fortunately I knew the answer, so then I had the fun job of pulling its insides out, all while trying to figure out why the heck I decided to cook a whole chicken when the store is kind enough to de-bone & de-skin the breasts for me.

So I just put the chicken, minus its guts, into the slow cooker, added some carrots, mushrooms & potatoes and a packet of seasoning, so in a few hours, i'll let you know how it turned out.

And I would VERY MUCH appreciate any tips on how to do this better next time.

[EveRecinella]

Buy a chicken with no guts next time?? :P LOL All the whole chickens I usually buy come already cleaned and ready to cook.

[Aggie Aviso]

I was about to say buy a chicken that is cleaned already too :)

[joelsgirl]

hey, I thought I was doing good to get one that didn't have a head or its feet!

But it turned out GREAT! Like I will definitely do this again; the seasoning was great and the chicken was super tender. Best part is that I forgot to put it in till 1:30, and it was ready by 5. Oh, and there are plenty of leftovers for tomorrow.

Since I ummm never cook...I feel like I deserve an award. :)

[syapotter]

Kellie, you never cook but you attempted cooking a whole chicken?? That's saying a lot about your cooking skills.. :)

[newfiemountiewife]

I love cooking whole chicken. Just pop it in and forget it! You could even make stuffing if you cooked it in the oven. Yummmm.

[mrs_jb]

I was just going to start a thread abou this. I have two roaster chickens that I got on sale and I have no idea how to cook them! LOL!

I'm thinking just throw 'em in the crockpot?

[newfiemountiewife]

My crockpot is tiny, so I can't fit a full chicken in it. I put mine in a roaster in the oven, and stuff it. Mmmmm I might do that tonight since it's a yucko day today, and we won't be bbq-ing!

[Paula]

I usually buy them when the package says no gizzards to remove. LOL

[ashliwolf]

i save my family and myself the pain, agony and threat of e-coli *or whatevah you get from raw and disgusting chicken* and buy my chickens already cooked at Wal-Mart..they are DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEelish..and i don't get any lip from my husband about how long i cooked it...or why i tried to cook it in the toaster or anything like that..YES, you guessed it i am A HORRIFIC cook! it is a total nightmare.i like to cook..but i just can't do it...not sure what the problem is..but everything always ends up totally trashed!

[FlirtatiousBrat]

When I buy a whole chicken, I just boil it and use it for a soup, dumplins, or something with it shredded..

congrats on your feat Kellie!

[LibbysMommy]

Way to go, Kellie!! I've never attempted to cook a whole chicken - I'm to scared to try!! LOL!! I'm glad it turned out so yummy for you!! :)

[jene]

Congrats on the yummy chicken.....I have never cooked one myself because that's my husbands job...lol but he likes doing it and he buys the whole chicken and I think he gets it with out the stuff inside.

[kscwgirl]

I am really impressed Kellie. LOL No way would I attempt a chicken. Turkey, I can do. LOL

[AmyM]

Anytime I cook a whole chicken, I have to get hubby to pull the insides out. I simply cannot stomach it. If I had to do it myself I'd be a vegetarian. LOL

[LolaLovesLife]

My MIL taught me how to make Chicken and noodles. Very easy and very tasty. Just throw the chicken in a pot of water and boil it for about an hour and a half. While it is boiling, mix eggs and flour to make dough for noodles. Roll out dough and cut sections out, pile them and slice for noodles. Let noodles dry out on a cookie sheet. Take chicken out of water (broth now) and let cool. Once cool enough to touch, pull chicken off bones. Once noodles are dried out ( a couple hours) trow them in boiling pot. About 5 mins later, add chicken and voila. I usually make it over the course of an afternoon, but actual hands on time is only about 45 mins, if that. You have to add LOTS of salt, and sometimes I have to add the 50/50 mixture of flour and water to thicken the broth.

Super yummy!

[pbumbaca]

Those roasting bags for the oven work great too!

[KirstieGai]

oh girl you gave me a good giggle! Remember that Kellie is in a different part of the world and probably doesn't get the option of gut free chook!!

I always roast mine in a baking dish with a splash of olive oil. Grab a whole lemon and stab it a few times with a fork. Put it inside the chicken and as it cook and gets hotter the lemon juice will be released. I also add a few cloves of garlic and some fresh rosemary sprigs. Sprinkle a little bit of seasoning over the chicken. Baste it with the juices every 30 minutes. Takes about 2 1/2 hours to cook in a hot oven. Throw in some vegies like potato, carrot, butternut squash and small whole onions around the chicken about 30 minutes into the cooking and you're all done. I like to make gravy to go with it all.

[meems]

wtg, Kellie! yah, whole chicken in the crockpot is pretty yummy! i get the gutless chickens though. i don't think i've cooked a whole chicken in months.

[krystalhartley]

Dude...I can't stomach meat if it's even on the bone...let alone prepare it! I even outsource my Thanksgiving turkey (get it presliced).

I have to say there was a little culture shock when I lived in Spain. My land lady brought home a fish...sliced it in half and announced she was having the head for lunch and the tail for dinner. The meat stores would have skinned rabbits in the window...sliced thin-ways from nose to tail...pigs...even horses hanging in the back.

I remember my friends wanted to have a BBQ for my birthday and brought a chicken...had feathers on it still. It's stuff like that when I actually consider the whole vegetarian thing.

Okay...so that was a major tangent because I have absolutely no betty crocker ideas for you.

[ashliwolf]

Okay...so that was a major tangent because I have absolutely no betty crocker ideas for you.

now do you understand why we get along so well!? haha..love ya kh!

[twentytinytoes]

I always buy the ones already cooked and seasoned on the rotisserie lol

[latrischler]

I've never cooked a whole chicken either - and my DH does the turkey for Thanksgiving. But maybe I'll try it - You all make it sound so easy! But I'll look for a gutless one....... ;)