Thursday, May 22, 2014

Herbie the Chicken

Or should that be Herby Chicken?


Herbed Chicken and Rice
 hmmmm

Well, I may have gotten carried away the other day when I decided to defrost and cook a lovely big roasting chicken I had in the freezer.

It was so pretty, big and plump and juicy.

And it was also hot outside so I didn't want to cook it in the oven, like I should have. 

I decided to cook it in the crock pot and I think I outsmarted myself.

I did, actually. 

I thought 4 hours in the crockpot would be OK, but it was about 2 hours too long.   My poor chicken fell apart.

And the fresh herbs, well, they kinda over took the chicken and hijacked it.  

But the beginning of it was just fine.

I took a half lemon (and cut the skin off and used it in the Lemon Extract)  and two garlic cloves, put them inside the cavity and then browned the chicken in some EVOO and butter.



Placed the chicken in the Crockpot. Added a half cup of Riesling wine, cause it was sitting on the counter  and I still had a half bottle left from the weekend.

Then I went out in the garden, well, to my herb pots and picked some fresh oregano, mint, thyme and parsley and raided a few leaves off of the Celery plant as well.    
Herbs

Took them in the house, gave them a rinse, then popped the herbs into the pan I'd browned the chicken in, just wanted to get the herby oils released from the leaves and then added some of my Home Made Chicken Stock, about 2 cups worth.

***Hint*** If you make your own stock, freeze it in a muffin tin.  Each depression holds about 1/2 cup. 
***Hint***  If you are using fresh herbs, remember that they are a lot stronger in flavour than dried herbs.  In other words, you get more oomph for your recipe.


I then put the herbs on top of the chicken, put the lid on and walked away.

If you noticed I did not salt and pepper anything.  The chicken stock was well seasoned and the herbs, well, they took the place of the stock. 

After 4 hours, I decided to take the chicken out of the crock pot and it fell apart. sigh.  But all the wonderful liquid in the bottom was good.  I used part of it for a gravy and froze the rest.   
I really liked the taste, especially since I sauteed some frozen veggies with some leftover rice for my side dish.
It was a little too herby for my DH's taste, but I noticed he ate all the breast meat anyway. 
Sidsel Munkholm - Author
Sidsel Munkholm - Author

Sid loves to cook, feed people and have fun in the kitchen. She shares her successes and the involuntary offerings she sometimes gives the kitchen goddess as well. And she's still looking for the mythical fairy to help her clean the kitchen after a marathon cooking session. Currently working on a cookbook showcasing the recipes from her Danish heritage.

6 comments:

  1. Chicken looks delicious nad I can imagine the aroma wafting through...! And I loved reading your hints.

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    1. It smelled so good as it was cooking, and I thought it tasted pretty good. I do like to share some hints from time to time. Thanks for the kind words.

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  2. This was the first recipe I clicked on in Rebekah's round up because I LOVED the name.

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    1. Thank you. I had fun with the name too, but the chicken did taste very good as well.

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  3. This sounds delicious! I have yet to try an entire chicken in a crockpot. Thanks for linking up for Crockpot Monday!

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    1. Thanks for having me. I've got a couple more crockpot recipes I'd like to share, but I'll wait til next week to share another one. I love doing a crockpot chicken, just have to, umm, monitor it a little closer so it doesn't cook as long. Still, it tasted good.

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