The Best Crock Pot Roast Chicken and Broth Recipe

People have asked me for ages to share my Crock Pot Roast Chicken and particularly my Sipping Broth recipe for AGES. It’s a recipe I’ve created and adapted over the past five years, the comfort meal that everyone in my family craves and asks for throughout the year. It warms my heart that my son will get the craving and beg me to make it for him (poured over fresh cooked noodles). I’ve even taken giant jars of the sipping broth to parties to heat and serve in little shot glasses (always a huge hit). 

Below is a list of ingredients and directions for the roast chicken and vegetables and also the broth you make from it, with tips and tricks on serving and preserving so you can keep stock on hand for when you have that craving, a sick patient, a friend that needs a little love. 

 

INGREDIENTS:

A light drizzle olive oil

1 roasting chicken

1 Large Yellow or Sweet Onion, Cut however you like

1 bunch Carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (or a whole pack of baby carrots)

1 bunch Celery, chopped 

Half or whole head of garlic, peeled (this is a personal preference. It doesn’t make it taste garlicky, it just adds even more savory depth)

2 c. Chicken Stock (or water if you’re in a pinch)

2 Tbsp Herbes de Provence

2 bay leaves

2 tsp sea salt

Optional:

One large orange, sliced into 8 pieces ( I always add the orange, but you CAN survive without it)

Small fingerling or sliced potatoes (I don’t eat potatoes, but you CAN add them if you want)

Sprigs of fresh herbs you may have on hand. I always grab 2-3 sprigs of: rosemary, thyme, a couple sage leaves if I have them and parsley at the end. This is intuitive and up to you. You can’t mess this up. 

DIRECTIONS:

1. In your crock pot, drizzle lightly olive oil on the bottom of the pot.
2. Add half your chopped onions, carrots, celery to the pot. Place your whole roasting chicken on top, making sure you’ll be able to close the lid when it’s time (and make sure you’ve removed the bag of giblets they sometimes stick up inside the chicken). Put some of your other half of onions and 2-3 pieces of the sliced orange inside the cavity. This helps infuse the flavors into the chicken. 
3. Scatter the remaining onion, carrots and celery around the sides of the chicken. If you choose to add the optional potatoes, do it now around the sides too. Sprinkle the salt and Herbes de Provence across the entire pot. 
4. Pour chicken stock into the pot, gently pouring into an area that won’t disturb your salt and herbs. The amount you pour in will vary. You want to have enough liquid to fill the very bottom of the crock pot and can see at about 1/4-1/3 filled. The chicken and veg will produce its own liquids so you don’t want an excess of broth to start off with. (If you find yourself without broth while cooking, you CAN use water, but you’ll probably want to add an additional teaspoon of salt). 
5. Place the rest of the orange pieces around the pot. Drop your whole sprigs of rosemary, thyme, sage leafs right on top. They don’t have to be bundled. Place your bay leaves. Cover and let cook for 8 hours on high. 

 

I always start my crock pot roasting first thing in the morning, letting it cook all day so it’s ready to serve for dinner. I will use a fork to pull large pieces of the chicken, pieces of carrots and onions and celery (and potatoes if you’ve added them) and put them on a plate and serve with rice, green beans cooked separately. OR I will take the chicken meat, carrots, celery and onion and place over fresh cooked noodles, which I will ladle broth right out of the crock pot and pour on top. I often make a side of garlic bread to serve with it (French bread or sourdough, crush a piece of garlic and vigorously rub on top with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, toasted for a few minutes). 

NEXT, WHAT TO DO WITH THE REST OF IT:

1. So your crock pot is likely on “Keep Warm” setting now. You want to use a fork and spoon to pull large pieces of chicken and carrots and onions, celery bits if you want and if you had any potatoes in there. I set aside enough of the chicken to use for one more night’s dinner with a variation (served over a cheesy sweet potato with English peas, for example).
2. Then I will take large-ish glas jars, fill with the chicken and vegetables and then ladle broth over the top, using a fine mesh sieve to filter out any bone bits). These jars of soup will be put in the refrigerator until cold and then moved to the freezer to have servings of chicken soup on hand. I always put a small label on top that says “Chicken Soup (date)”. It’s good for one year in the freezer. Note: I do NOT put noodles in the soup to freeze. They’ll be soggy and awful, so always make those fresh to add to the soup when you heat it up in the future. 

TO MAKE THE BROTH:

1. Leaving all the bones, the bits, the thick clumps of vegetable and herbs in the crock pot, turn the crock pot to High and pour chicken broth or water on top, filling the pot completely. 
2. Add 1-2 more Tbsp Herbes de Provence, 1 Tbsp sea salt and any more fresh herbs you’d like to throw in. Cover and let cook on high overnight. 
3. The next day, set up a towel on the counter, placing empty jars all the way down. You can get anywhere from 5-10 jars of broth from this batch. Using a cup or ladle with a pouring spout and a fine mesh sieve, beginning pouring broth into the jars, filling to 1/2inch of the top. Set the lid loosely on top, letting the broths cool just slightly before lidding and moving to the refrigerator to cool. When jars are cold from the fridge, place a label sticker with name and date on lid and move to the freezer. This will last one year in the freezer. 

TO USE:

Thaw out a jar of your broth to heat and sip (the natural minerals and collagen are so good for you!), use to cook in place of cooking liquids or store bought stock or broths, add to soups, etc. And share with friends, duh!

You’ll notice a thick jelly-like layer at the top of your jar. That is the collagen!