Many people love the convenience of deli style chickens. They are already cooked, ready to eat or to put in your favorite chicken dish. You can use the meat for salads and soups or any other recipe that calls for pre-cooked or left over chicken. Making it at home is really easy and doesn't cost that much - especially if you can find chicken on sales. You also get the added advantage of deciding what goes into your spice rub.
1 whole chicken weighing about 2kg – cleaned inside and out, pat dry (with a paper towel that you throw away right after!!!)
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. each onion powder, garlic powder and pepper
1 onion, quartered
Mix all spices together in a small bowl. Rub the entire chicken, inside and outside, with the spice mixture. Place the quartered onion inside the chicken cavity.
Although there are several methods, I always just do it on a roasting pan. Place the prepared chicken on a rack in the roasting pan and cook in the oven at 120 C. Bake for 5 hours.
If you are using a crock pot, then place the chicken breast side up in the crock pot. If you don't want the chicken to swim in the juices, place some potatoes at the bottom of the crock pot and place the chicken on top of it. Close the slow cooker tightly and cook on low for 8 hours. Let chicken set for a few minutes before carving.
Note: I use kosher chickens which are already salted and never mind how much you wash them, they do taste salty for some reason (I think the meat sort of absorbs some of the salt). I anyway don't like using a lot of salt, so I never put additional salt on my roasted chicken. But feel free to add it to your preferred taste.
