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I had purchased a really large whole chicken on sale. I knew this monster was going to take a while to cook, so I decided to throw it in the slow cooker and let that wonderful appliance work its magic! I adore lemon with chicken and we usually stuff our barbecue chicken and turkeys with fruit, so I did sort of a hybrid thing. The chicken was stuffed with lemons, oranges and garlic, but I went crazy with the lemon! It was a great choice! The chicken was so moist and tangy and the garlic and shallots added that nice rustic, savory flavor to the dish.

This was really easy to make and took maybe 10 minutes to put together. You just let it cook all day and then when you’re ready to eat, pull that chicken out and carve off the meat. It practically falls apart! You do want to watch carefully for the bones and pull those out, but this step wasn’t difficult.

In the recipe, you’ll notice that I did not add any additional fat; no oil, no butter, no chicken broth. So the only fat you’re getting is from the chicken itself. I did try to discard the skin after cooking to cut back on the fat.

I served my chicken with a mix of roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots along with some sautéed greens. Look for a future blog post on the potatoes! I’ve done something similar before, but this version was even better! Let’s just say there was gourmet garlic olive oil and balsamic vinegar involved!

Slow Cooked Citrus Garlic Chicken

1 whole chicken, clean out the cavity and rinse

2 lemons

1 orange

1 shallot

6 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half or thirds

Salt and pepper

Season the outside and inside of the chicken with salt and pepper. Place your chicken in your slow cooker pot. Cut your orange into 4-6 pieces, small enough so they can fit in the cavity of the chicken, and stuff into chicken. You can also squeeze out some of the juice into the cavity. Zest both of your lemons onto a separate plate and set aside. Cut your lemons in half and squeeze the juice over your chicken, then cut the halves in half and place in and around your chicken. Sprinkle your garlic chunks in and around your chicken. Peel and rough cut your shallot and sprinkle this around your chicken. Sprinkle your lemon zest over the chicken. Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours.

Enjoy!