Rotisserie Style Slow Cooker Chicken

• Chop half of large onion, or 1 small onion, into 1” thick rounds. Arrange rounds in the bottom of the crockpot to create a “bed” for the chicken to sit on.
• Sit chicken on food safe surface or cookie sheet with sides to catch any liquids. Dispose of wrapper and any giblet packet that may be inside the chicken cavity.
• Stuff chicken with remaining onion (chopped in large chunks), garlic cloves, and 1 large bay leaf.
• Squeeze fresh lemon juice over chicken and then place the lemon rind inside the chicken with the onions, garlic, and bay leaf.
• Cover entire chicken with freshly ground salt and pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and a light dusting of cayenne. For a more robust flavor, rub some of the seasoning underneath the skin so that it will absorb into the meat while the chicken roasts.
• Place seasoned and stuffed chicken on bed of onions in crockpot. The chicken will hold the onion rings down when you add liquid, otherwise they would float off the bottom surface.
• Being careful not to pour on the chicken, add your water or chicken broth to the crockpot until 1-2” deep of water lines bottom. You do not want too much liquid. I only use 1 to 1 ½ cups of liquid in my crockpot.
• Place a bay leaf on top of chicken and cover securely with lid. Cook on Medium-High for 6-7 hours or until tender and no pink flesh or red juices are visible when tested with fork. For longer cook time, set slow cooker to low for 8+ hours. Chicken will be very tender and fall off the bone easily.
• Using pot holders, carefully pour off liquid into a bowl covered with a strainer to use for a chicken stock later (see this recipe for details!), or simply dispose of down the drain.
• Using 2 large spatulas like tongs, carefully transfer chicken onto a serving platter or cutting board.  

Cook times will vary depending on the size of your chicken and crockpot. The above times were based on a 6lb. Chicken. When in doubt, allow chicken to roast in crockpot on low or medium heat and check hourly after 4 hours for small chicken or after 5 hours for larger chickens.