Slow-Roasted Rosemary-and-Garlic Chicken, 9/3

Okay...almost caught up! At least most of these were online somewhere so I could just copy and paste! Here's another crockpot chicken recipe. This is the one I use most often. I had five frozen chickens in my freezer, so I figured it was time to start using them and freeing up some space! I may do another one next week, we'll see.

Slow-Roasted Rosemary-and-Garlic Chicken
10 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 (5- to 6-pound) roasting chicken
5 garlic cloves
4 (3-inch) rosemary sprigs
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Combine minced garlic and chopped rosemary. Remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken. Rinse chicken with cold water; pat dry. Trim excess fat. Starting at neck cavity, loosen skin from breast and drumsticks by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat. Rub garlic mixture under loosened skin over breast and drumsticks. Place 5 garlic cloves and rosemary sprigs into the body cavity.

Place chicken, breast side down, in an electric slow cooker. Cover with lid; cook on high heat for 1 hour. Reduce heat setting to low; cook 7 hours. Remove chicken from slow cooker, reserving drippings. Discard skin from chicken.

Place a zip-top plastic bag inside a 2-cup glass measure. Pour drippings into bag; let stand 10 minutes (fat will rise to the top). Seal bag; carefully snip off 1 bottom corner of bag. Drain drippings into a small saucepan, stopping before fat layer reaches opening; discard fat. Add orange juice and vinegar to saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes.

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I buy garlic already chopped up in the jar, so I use that instead. I also rarely buy fresh rosemary because I'm cheap. So normally I mix together my store-bought minced garlic and dried rosemary, spread that under the skin and then throw the rest in the chicken cavity. I skip the whole gravy/sauce thing because I tried it once and it was a lot of work with not a lot of results. I've decided it's not worth my time. With last night's chicken I had some fresh basil that needed to be used, so I chopped that up and mixed it in with the rosemary and garlic. Can't say I really noticed a difference, but at least my basil didn't go to waste!