Most people probably know that it's more cost effective to buy your chicken whole than in bits, right? Considerably less people probably know that cooking your cost effective chicken in a slow cooker instead of the oven is even more cost effective.
I don't know the exact ins and outs, but I can only assume the smaller size and lower temperatures mean slow cookers use less energy.
After a quick internet search, it became clear that a lot of people are wary about not killing off bacteria in a slow cooked chicken. Well, again, I'm not an expert by any means but I do know enough not to be worried. The legal limit in Scotland for serving hot food in restaurants/cafes etc is 82 degrees. At this temperature most microscopic beasties that could live inside you and make you ill will be dead. My particular slow cooker boils water (slowly...) on it's high setting, so reaching 82 degrees is no trouble.
That being said, I would definitely recommend allowing your chicken to come to room temperature before putting it in the slow cooker, and make sure you cook for long enough for the insides to cook completely (6hours on high was enough for our small chicken).
Anyway, I'm rather getting off the point, which is cheapness! Asda are doing 2 whole chickens for £7 so a £3.50 chicken can be slow cooked, pulled apart and split up to make many meals.
Ours was particularly small, so each breast will make a meal for 2 and the leg meat will make lunch for the Husband for 2 days. 6 meals worth of meat for £3.50? Quite the bargain, if you ask me.
Before I sign off, I have one tiny disclaimer about cooking a chicken this way- it is not for the faint hearted. Your chicken will fall to bits once you get it out. There will be bones everywhere, and you will be able to see the chickens innards. If you're the kind of person who gets a bit squeamish about meat, this is probably not for you. Once I had finished with our chicken last night, it looked a bit grizzly.
So don't say you weren't warned.
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