I made this on the weekend, and it turned out wonderful. Mmmmmmm
I don't have a large oval slow cooker; what I have is a 4L (4½ US quart) round model.
I used a whole chicken, 1.8kg (approx. 4 lbs), and half the salt called for in the original recipe. I also used 1 heaped tsp paprika, instead of 2, then added a tsp ground cumin seed. Otherwise everything else was same.
I didn't truss the chicken, in fact I cut off the fatty skin flaps around the vent, and also at the neck.
I sprayed the sides and bottom of the slow cooker with olive oil non-stick spray, and put 3 crumpled balls of aluminum foil in the bottom. I put the chicken in, breast-side down, slightly sloped so the vent end was downward. It fit just fine, but of course the legs and wing edges were touching the sides of the crock. The foil balls held it up, so it didn't sit in the juices which drained off during cooking.
I cooked in on high for 1 hr, then low for 6 hrs. The skin didn't get crispy, but it was golden and "sticky" as the title suggests. It wasn't just pale and flabby
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The breast meat was so soft and moist .. perfect to use leftover and cold on salads etc. The skin was delicious on its own, and of course the dark meat portions, thigh, wings etc were perfect.
As others stated previously, the meat "fell off the bones". Even the gristle and cartilage came out soft. I've saved the bones and gristly bits, and will make broth later this week
I'm very pleased with the way it turned out
The spice mix is delicious, but I think even simple seasoning will work, and a whole bird will cook just fine in a round crockpot .. as long as it's not too big. 1.8kg (4 lbs) or less is best.
Doreen