marilynpeight
This slow cooker whole chicken is stuffed with a flavorful Amish bread stuffing and has butter rubbed under the skin for extra moisture, creating a juicy and flavorful main dish option for the holidays (especially with the prices of turkey being at a record high), or for a special dinner! The Amish Stuffing is even better than boxed stuffing because it is made with fresh bread cubes and packed with real flavor! I like to use a combination of store bought and fresh homemade bread for the stuffing, but feel free to use one or the other to your preference. More photos and notes below the recipe!
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Slow Cooker Stuffed Chicken (with Amish Stuffing)
Ingredients
- 5-6 lb. whole chicken
- 3 tablespoons butter
Spice Rub:
- 1 1/4 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Season all Lawry's salt
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Several dashes paprika
Stuffing:
- 2 1/4 cups fresh bread cubes
- 1/4 cup diced onion
- 1/3 cup celery or shredded carrots
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon Old bay seasoning
- dash onion powder or celery seasoning (to taste)
Instructions
- Combine the ingredients for the spice rub and set aside.
- Sautee the onions and celery or carrots in butter until the onion is translucent, then remove from heat. Combine the bread crumbs with the sauteed veggies and butter mixture, egg and seasonings until the bread crumbs are moistened.
- Gently rub three tablespoons of butter under the chicken skin without breaking the skin. Pack the stuffing mixture into the chicken cavity and then place the whole chicken into a 7-8 quart crockpot. Season the chicken liberally with the spice rub, then cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. See notes and tips for moist chicken below.
Notes
If you wish to make an extra batch of stuffing to serve with the chicken I can certainly recommend the Amish Stuffing recipe. We like to add Amish style Mashed Potatoes and Amish Custard Pie to the meal as well!
Note*
If you do end up with leftover stuffing you can refrigerate it until you are ready to bake or slow cook it. I would suggest adding chicken broth for extra moisture depending on the amount left over. The whole chicken adds a lot of juices to the crock pot as it cooks, so unless you like your stuffing soggy (or just extra moist as my husband says) I recommend cooking the extra stuffing separately.
Chicken; buttered, spiced and stuffed with Amish Bread stuffing.
Note*
Getting the butter rubbed evenly under the skin of the chicken can be a little tricky. If you end up with some clumps of butter, no worries, it will melt and spread out over the chicken as it cooks. If the skin does happen to break it will cook just as well, but I would personally add extra moisture (butter or olive oil) over the open meat areas.
Tips for moist chicken:
Overcooking the chicken (even in the crock pot) will dry out the breast. A 5 lb. chicken will take 3.5-4 hours whereas a 6 lb. chicken will take closer to 5 hours (this can vary with the crock pot size and strength as well). I would check the chicken with a meat thermometer frequently after several hours of cooking to ensure you get it to that 165 degree perfection.
Some recommend rubbing salt under the chicken skin as well. I haven’t tried this personally but it sounds like it would be worth trying!
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This is a very good recipe, a family favorite of ours.
Same here!