Spice Rubbed Chicken

The thought of a whole chicken terrifies me. I have never made a whole chicken before... In fact, it makes me gag thinking about it.  Even on Thanksgiving, my husband handles the turkey. He normally fries is so I get out pretty easy on that deal.  When I received this recipe, it sounded too good not to try... even with the thought of a whole chicken looming out there. I gave it a whirl and I'm pretty impressed with the results. The best part... it's a crock pot meal! SCORE!

Spice Rubbed Chicken

1 4 lb whole roasting chicken, guts removed, rinsed and patted dry
2 t salt
2 t paprika
1 t cayenne
1 t onion powder
1 t thyme
1 t pepper
1 t garlic powder
1 cup chopped onion

Combine seasonings in a small bowl until blended well. Remove the giblets (if you haven't already) and rinse/pat dry.  Rub spice mixture well all over chicken.  Put chopped onion on bottom of the crockpot. Place chicken on top. NO LIQUID NEEDED. (this is serious... I know you might want to add some liquid, dont. This chicken makes a TON of juice on it's own)  Cook on low 8-10 hours. I shredded the chicken once it cooled. It was extremely juicy and flavorful!  I paired it with Roasted Cauliflower and everyone loved it. Lucas had finished his plate even before I got to the table with his milk and was asking for seconds, which he gobbled down.

There are a few awesome benefits to making this chicken:
1) it's a crock pot meal...doesn't get anymore convenient than that
2) the house smells amazing all day... you may want to remove the lid...but don't.
3)  this makes plenty of chicken... which means leftovers are inevitable...my husband enjoyed the leftover chicken the next day on a sandwich with some bbq sauce. He said it was pretty good.
4)  The bones... leftover chicken bones make outstanding broth. I have never made broth with these chicken bones, but I am thinking the results would be pretty epic.  I wish I had a broth recipe of my own, but I don't. I will work on that.