Slow Cooker Stewing Hen or Rooster

I personally prefer the flavor to the Stewing Hens or Roosters.  For many people this is a tougher cut of meat but if you know what you are doing with this bird the flavor is phenomenal.  Also these birds are much harder to find in an average grocery store and may require you to look at local farmers markets and get to know the farmers that sell eggs and chickens.   A stewing Hen is a hen that essentially has been around laying eggs for several years and has reached the end of the laying cycle.

Typically these birds are much leaner as well and their body will not be as rounded making a stew much better way to prepare.

Ingredients:

• 1 Rooster or Stewing Hen (I had a 4lb bird for this recipe)
• 1 cup water
• Sazon (http://drummingupabettermeal.blogspot.com/2015/08/sazon-blend-i-like.html)

Instructions:

• Place 1-2 cups water in slow cooker.
• Remove the chickens legs at the body joint to get a leg+thigh combo, and then remove the wings again at the body joint.
• Sprinkle well with Sazon and place these pieces outer skin down in the slow cooker.
• If you were lucky enough to get the neck with your bird sprinkle well with sazon and add to bottom of slow cooker with the legs and wings.
• Take the remainder of the bird, sprinkle well with sazon inside and out and place on top of the above ingredients.
• Cook at low on the slow cooker for 6 hours.   By hour 4/5 depending on your slow cooker the meat will start falling off the bone, I prefer mine just a little more rendered. 
• Serve and Enjoy
• This should feed 5 portions of meat.  You will need sides.
• Save the liquid as a base to make a chicken broth soup later, This should be very concentrated chicken broth capable of serving a soup for 5.

Alternate ingredients:

• Typically I love to add Celery, Carrots, and Onions to the broth.  I did not have any in the house when I made this one so went without.

Recommended Sides:

• Rice if you are not grain free.  If you make rice try and get a couple tablespoons of the chicken broth per cup water for a flavored rice.
• Potatoes or sweet potatoes.  I typically prefer a quick stove fry, but mashed and oven roasted work as well
• Any Vegetable.  I typically stick with an oldie but goody like peas and carrots, but there is no limit here.