We are still in the holiday recovery mode here in the Hinterlands. Setting up for the coming new year, having family in and out and just generally going through the process of starting 2016. Given all this, I am opting for a short cut on kid friendly meals and this Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken is a great one.
I had stopped in at Costco a while back and picked up a pair of whole chickens to put in the freezer for a future meal. I took one out and thawed it in a salt brine for a couple of days, to prepare it for this meal. My grandsons were coming in for a weekend stay, and they like BBQ, so it’s a win win. The process is simple, and once you put it in the slow cooker ,you just have to de-bone it when it’s done, and you are ready to eat.
Ready Set GO!
Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken for Man Food Mondays
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 medium onion
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup your favorite BBQ sauce. We used Williams Brothers. It’s a local favorite.
- 1 cup dry rub. I used a coffee dry rub
- salt and pepper to taste
The rub
- 3 tablespoons coffee beans, fresh ground for 15 seconds
- 2 tablespoons fresh ground black pepper
- 1 ½ tablespoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
- ½ teaspoon coco powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
Salt brine
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 4 + cups water
Instructions
- Thaw the chicken. You can thaw it in a salt brine in the refrigerator if you want to. I brine chicken so that it stays moist while cooking, this works no matter which cooking method you use.
- Put together your dry rub and Store it in a air tight container until you are ready to use it.
- After the chicken is thawed take it out of the brine and pat it dry, place it back in the refrigerator for about 2 hours to finish drying out.
- Cut up the onion and place it in the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Dry rub the chicken and make sure you get some inside the cavity.
- Place the chicken on top of the onions and dust the top of the chicken with the garlic powder.
- Set your Slow cooker on low and cook for 8 hours or set on high for 6 hours. Cook until the internal temp of the chicken is above 165°.
- Transfer the chicken to a large platter or bowl, remove the skin and separate the meat from the bones discard those . If you have an over abundance of chicken stock in the slow cooker remove at least 1/2 and discard it as well. Return the meat to the slow cooker.
- Add in the BBQ sauce of your choice a little at a time and mix in, try not to let it be too wet.
- Set on low and allow it to cook for another 30 minutes.
- Serve with or without buns.
Courses Entree
We had tater tot’s and cole slaw with this and additional BBQ sauces as well as ketchup and mustard….you can choose the beverage, adult or other wise. 🙂
Good Meal, fun to make, and the kids liked it very much.
‘Til next time be safe, stay warm and come back often.
Steve
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