I have created a monster!

[highlyeccentric]

I slow-cooked a chicken in cider with apples!

It fell apart as soon as I touched it. Now I have a pile of chicken, with scattered bones and apple mush. And the odd scrap of now-flavourless bacon. And a pot of liquid which I may or may not strain down for stock.

It is tasty. But not elegant. I'm guessing this is a sign that we should have trussed the chicken, despite the lack of instructions saying "truss chicken here"



Acquire the following:

1 whole chicken, with its innards removed. Let this chicken be a chicken that fits in your slow-cooker.
2-4 rashers of bacon, diced
1 onion, diced
1 sprig rosemary, leaves stripped from sprig
2 apples, cut into 6ths or 8ths.
1/2 cup cider
1 cup chicken stock

Fry up the bacon and onion. Add rosemary. Add cider and stock and bring to the boil.

Meanwhile: pat your chicken dry. Shove a handful of apple bits into its cavity. [Here is the point where you ought to truss the chicken] Season if desired.

Plunk chicken in slow cooker. Arrange apple bits on top. Pour liquid over top.

Cook on high for an hour or two, and then on low for the rest of the day.

Nom. Suggest nomming with mashed taters and chives.

Comments

[lauredhel]

It's not the trussing, necessarily - you just overcooked it. I put my whole chicken in the pot more like lunchtime, not first thing in the morning, and it comes out just right. Timing depends very heavily on your cooker and the size of your chook, which can vary by about 100%.

Enjoy!

[highlyeccentric]

Well, it was closer to lunchtime when it went in - i'm a slow starter ;). And it didn't -taste- overcooked, it just had no structural integrity.

[tree_and_leaf]

Mind you, some people would consider that evidence of slow-cooking win...

[highlyeccentric]

It tasted like win! It was just a nuisance to handle :D

[celandineb]

My slow-cooked chickens almost always fall apart. I am good with that.

I also never do the hour on high that they now recommend; I think the purpose is to get the chicken past the bacteria-breeding temperature faster, but I have been eating slow-cooked chicken cooked solely on low for 40 years and have never ever gotten sick.

Sounds yummy. I might have to try this (using turkey bacon, sadly, as my SO does not eat pork or beef).

[holyschist]

When you say "cider," do you mean alcoholic or not? (This is perhaps a cultural thing.)

[highlyeccentric]

I used alcoholic cider, but I imagine non-alcoholic would also work :)

[holyschist]

Non-alcoholic would probably be too sweet for my tastes. Just wanted to be sure!

[peroxidepirate]

Yum! I loooooooove chicken slow-cooked to the falling to pieces stage.