Jerk Chicken in the Crock Pot

It's crock pot season! I love making meals in the morning that make the house smell wonderful when I walk in the door after work. And best of all, by the time I get home all the hard work is done. All that's left to do is eat.

And to think- I never even owned a crock pot until I met my husband. "Our" crock pot was HIS!

INGREDIENTS

4-5 pound whole chicken

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon all spice (not a typo, I used a whole tablespoon!)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons kosher salt

3 limes, juiced (about 1/3 cup)

DIRECTIONS

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Skin the bird as much as you can (or don't. it's your choice.) and place it into the slow cooker. I prefer to cook my chickens upside down, to keep the breast meat as juicy as possible. Make sure all the giblets, neck, etc. are out!

In a small mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar and dry spices. Rub this spice and sugar mixture all over the bird, inside and out. Pour on the lime juice.

Cover, and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or on high for 4. Check doneness with a meat thermometer, or cut in to make sure the meat is no longer pink. Usually the bird falls completely apart--which is great. Moist, juicy, wondefully-flavored meat.

You can serve with lime wedges for a bit of extra citrus flavor, if you'd like.

VERDICT

I wasn't convinced that this whole bird would cook in just 6 hours. But it did. And it was fall-off-the-bone cooked, juicy and delicious!