Winner Winner Chicken Dinner*

Last night we went into New York to see our favorite band, The Smithereens. We did not get in until after 2AM. Needless to say I needed a easy recipe for dinner. Enter Lemon Pepper Roast Chicken in a Slow Cooker. I found the recipe on The Little Kitchen site.

 

Easy as pie! I had purchased the chicken on sale at Roberts for $1.98 a pound. Nice price for an organic chicken. Everyone loved this dinner. Even Archie.

I made a couple of changes to the original recipe. Here it is with my changes -

Ingredients:
3 teaspoons salt
2 pinches cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
zest of one lemon, then take the lemon & cut in half
4 carrots, cut into thirds
4 celery, cut into thirds or quarters
1 lemon, quartered   
4 to 5 pound whole chicken, rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel, neck & gizzards removed (if any)

Gravy (optional but too good not to make!)
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons all-purpose unbleached flour
1/4 white wine
salt & pepper

Method-
Mix salt, cayenne pepper, ground pepper and lemon zest together in a small bowl and set aside.

Chop vegetables and add to a 6 to 7 quart slow cooker.

Prep the chicken
Fold wings back below the chicken. Put lemon pepper spices inside and all over the skin of the chicken. Add the quartered lemon pieces to the inside cavity of the chicken. Taking the lemon you halved, squeeze one-half over the chicken and over the vegetables. Add the two halves on top of the vegetables in the slow cooker.
Lay the chicken inside the slow cooker on top of the vegetables. (No need to add water or broth). Turn slow cooker on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 4 to 6 hours until chicken is thoroughly cooked through to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F.

Remove chicken with turkey lifters and place into a baking dish and broil for 4 to 6 minutes or until the skin is crisp. Keep an eye on the chicken under the broiler it can brown up pretty fast!

Carve the chicken and serve with the vegetables from the slow cooker if desired.

Gravy
Remove vegetables and pour chicken broth from the bottom of the slow cooker into a fat separator or use a spoon to remove any extra fat. Strain the liquid.

In skillet, melt butter on medium heat. Add flour and mix with a wooden spoon to cook the flour.

Whisk in 1 to 1.5 cups of the strained chicken broth. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 30 to 60 seconds. Add in white wine and stir. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes and season to taste.

The next time I make this I will add potatoes to the Crock Pot. Then it will be a perfect one pot meal!


* From Ask.com
The phrase "winner winner chicken dinner" originates from 1970s casinos that were trying to attract players to underplayed tables. At the time, the most common casino bet was two dollars. Coincidentally, most casinos also offered a standard chicken dinner that was priced just under two dollars. "Winner winner chicken dinner" was called out by dealers when someone won at their tables, indicating that the player had just won the equivalent of a chicken dinner and attempting to attract others to come play at the table to have the chance to win the same thing.