Whole Chicken Crock Experiment & 'Noodle' Question
Encouraged from reading member's posts on slow cooking a whole chicken rather than roasting it, I'm about to give it my first shot as I usually oven bake a roast every Sunday.
I've had a read through the posts, looked at suggestions of a wire rack, the aluminium foil sling and just how much you can cram into a crock... I've just now sized up my equipment (5.5 Litre /5.8 Quart Sunbeam Slow Cooker) and my 2kg / 4.4 pound chicken. I have plenty of room above and below the chicken for suggested vegies, however my chicken is touching the side of the crock.
I use my cooker normally for soups, soups and more soups and corned beef (which is a much smaller cut normally than my bird). This may sound silly, but I'm worried about overcooked tough patches where the crock is in contact with the chicken. Can anyone provide some advice or experience on this particular aspect of whole chicken crock cooking?
Also, having lurked and read the crock adventures for a long time now, I have a question for the Americans on here. Australian's when referring to noodles refer to the Asian varieties being dried, fried, udon, hokkien you get the idea... Some of the recipes here call for noodles, and I seem to recall (rightly or wrongly) it may be used for thin spaghetti or other pasta in some parts of the US. Can someone set me straight on this?
I've had a read through the posts, looked at suggestions of a wire rack, the aluminium foil sling and just how much you can cram into a crock... I've just now sized up my equipment (5.5 Litre /5.8 Quart Sunbeam Slow Cooker) and my 2kg / 4.4 pound chicken. I have plenty of room above and below the chicken for suggested vegies, however my chicken is touching the side of the crock.
I use my cooker normally for soups, soups and more soups and corned beef (which is a much smaller cut normally than my bird). This may sound silly, but I'm worried about overcooked tough patches where the crock is in contact with the chicken. Can anyone provide some advice or experience on this particular aspect of whole chicken crock cooking?
Also, having lurked and read the crock adventures for a long time now, I have a question for the Americans on here. Australian's when referring to noodles refer to the Asian varieties being dried, fried, udon, hokkien you get the idea... Some of the recipes here call for noodles, and I seem to recall (rightly or wrongly) it may be used for thin spaghetti or other pasta in some parts of the US. Can someone set me straight on this?