Description
The Instant Pot can cook a whole chicken to moist, delicious perfection in less than an hour. This method makes THE best Instant Pot chicken every single time.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 (4-5 pound) whole chicken
- 1/3 cup salt
- 3 Tbsp softened butter
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 lemon, quartered
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 2 tsp Montreal chicken seasoning
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Remove anything in the chicken cavity and discard. Add the salt to Instant Pot liner. Fill with water until half full. Whisk well so that salt dissolves. Place the chicken in the pot. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the chicken. Cover with foil or plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator to brine for at least 8 hours.
- Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry with a paper towel. Place the chicken on a pan or a cutting board. Discard the brine solution and dry out the pot.
- Pour 1 ½ cups water into bottom of Instant Pot. Add in a trivet.
- In a small bowl stir together the butter, garlic powder, rosemary and thyme. Gently lift the skin from the chicken breast and legs. Distribute half of the garlic butter between the skin and the meat. Then rub the rest of the mixture over the outside of the entire chicken. Sprinkle the Montreal chicken seasoning over the chicken on all sides.
- Place 2 quarters of the lemon and the garlic into chicken cavity.
- Place the chicken on top of trivet (breast side down). Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 24 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 10-20 minutes and and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- If you’d like to crisp up the skin use an air fryer lid at 400 degrees for about 5 minutes. You can also do this step under your oven’s broiler.
- Squeeze the other 2 lemon quarters over the chicken. Slice and serve.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Remove anything in the chicken cavity and discard. Add the salt to a large pot or bowl. Fill with water until half full. Whisk well so that salt dissolves. Place the chicken in the pot. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the chicken. Cover with foil or plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator to brine for at least 8 hours.
- Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry with a paper towel. Place the chicken on a pan or a cutting board. Discard the brine solution.
- Pour a half cup water into slow cooker.
- In a small bowl stir together the butter, garlic powder, rosemary and thyme. Gently lift the skin from the chicken breast and legs. Distribute half of the garlic butter between the skin and the meat. Then rub the rest of the mixture over the outside of the entire chicken. Sprinkle the Montreal chicken seasoning over the chicken on all sides.
- Place 2 quarters of the lemon and the garlic into chicken cavity.
- Place the chicken into the slow cooker (breast side down). Cover and cook on LOW for about 5-7 hours, until the middle of the chicken reaches a temperature of 165 degrees F.
- Carefully place chicken on a cookie sheet or roaster pan. Put in the oven and broil for several minutes until the skin is crispy and brown.
- Squeeze the other 2 lemon quarters over the chicken. Slice and serve.
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker