Whole Chicken in the InstantPot

So I had a whole chicken in the freezer from my sister’s farm that we harvested. I was worried about how to cook a whole chicken, as I’d never done that before. So I called my sister and she said I can cook the whole frozen chicken in my InstantPot (as long as it fits, of course). And that’s what I did! Straight into the pot from the freezer, with a cup of water added, and cooked for about an hour. It turned out fabulous! I should have googled the best way to get the chicken out of the pot after cooking… part of it fell apart and splashed back in to the pot, spraying hot chicken stock all over the place. Oh well.

Once I got all the chicken out of the pot I shredded it and placed into containers for future use this week. I made a chicken sandwich for dinner last night and tonight I’m thinking of making a cheesy mac ‘n cheese dish with shredded chicken added.

I could make a BBQ chicken sandwich, loaded nachos, or chicken tacos… the possibilities are endless! I’m really starting to enjoy this InstantPot and I can just picture Billy up in heaven, smiling at me. (And wondering why I keep forgetting about our spice cupboard).

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The chicken sandwich I made was pretty simple – just some of the shredded chicken, cream cheese, siracha sauce, and some shredded Cobly cheese on wheat bread. It was delicious! I would have had a side of potato chips too but apparently I need to do some grocery shopping soon.

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Looks great. Makes me hungry for chicken tacos

Does look good. I was thinking chicken enchiladas.

Sharon wrote:

I was worried about how to cook a whole chicken, as I’d never done that before. So I called my sister and she said I can cook the whole frozen chicken in my InstantPot (as long as it fits, of course). And that’s what I did! Straight into the pot from the freezer, with a cup of water added, and cooked for about an hour.

Wow, now I guess I know why they call it an InstantPot. From the freezer to being done in an hour is like magic.

Last winter we did a Rebel Rooster whole chicken following the Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken recipe on your sisters website. We had to first thaw the chicken for 24 hours and then it was about 6 hours in the crockpot ’til it was done.

It was wonderful, we had no leftovers.

Looks like Rebel Rooster started a wait list for chickens this year, time to sign up soon.

Might have to look into an InstantPot too.

leinieman wrote:

Does look good. I was thinking chicken enchiladas.

I’ve never made enchiladas before, but I should look up a recipe!

Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:

Last winter we did a Rebel Rooster whole chicken following the Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken recipe on your sisters website.

Awesome! Becky is an amazing cook and her chickens are top notch. I’ve helped her harvest a few times and I’m hoping to be able to help her again when the next batch is ready. It’s quite the work! And as usual the last 5 or so chickens in the coop are the hardest to catch. I usually get scraped up a bit by their feet and only one time did a chicken wiggle its way out of the “cone of death” before I could execute him. I turned around and he was sitting atop the cone looking a bit unhappy. I’m not sure who looked more shocked, me or the chicken.

Below is a photo to commemorate our first chicken harvest together, back in March 2017. It was pretty cold that day, if I recall!

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Love my insta pot. Makes the best soup stock in a very short time. I also have done three pork roasts for pulled pork , super easy. Ps. I hope my grammar is not too terrible. Lol

Looks good. What are those weird round green things in the bowl though?

Sharon,

Please tell me that you saved the bones, placed them back into the instant pot filled with water, a couple bay leaves, a pinch of salt, and then cooked on high for about an hour.
Best soup stock you can get and freezes wonderfully.

Ron

P.S. Nice job on cooking your chicken!

Ron, you bet! I tossed all the bones back into the leftover juice along with any small meat bits, and cooked it for about an hour. My sister says it will be the best chicken stock I’ll ever use!

Sharon…what size pot are you using?

The one I’m considering is a 6 quart at Target…on sale now for $80.

Is that big enough for a whole chicken?

blackbay wrote:

Looks good. What are those weird round green things in the bowl though?

That would be the garnish.

Anyone old enough to remember when restaurants would always serve with that sprig of parsley?

And who remembers that spiced apple slice as a garnish?

Andy,
IMO, While the 6qt is big enough, I highly getting the 8qt
You can always make smaller batches in the 8qt.
The time difference in cooking time is minimal.

Ron

Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:

Sharon…what size pot are you using?

The one I’m considering is a 6 quart at Target…on sale now for $80.

Is that big enough for a whole chicken?

Mine is a generic brand and I think it’s 5 quarts rather than 6 like the common InstantPot brand. My chicken weighted 5.2 lbs and it fit to the max line in my pot. So the 6 quart would be a great choice for average size chickens. If you get the bigger InstantPot, I think it’s an 8 quart, I think it takes longer to cook because there is more space and air for the pressure to build.

I do have another larger chicken from my sister that won’t fit in my pot. I think he was one of the big ass roosters that was a PITA to catch for harvest. He’s going to have to be cooked in my roaster pan some day.

As a retired chef, the instant pot stock is better than what I use to make and we cooked our stock for 10+ hours. It almost turns into jello when cooled.

Slider, I noticed that also (more of a gelatin consistency) I also save shrimp shells and make a seafood stock for jambalaya. It’s always best to go big, so I went with the 8qt instapot. Sharon, next thing that you need to try is sous vide. Game changer!

I’m so glad you guys said something… the jello consistently totally threw me off! I would have thought I did something wrong.

Try hard boiled eggs if you haven’t. I forget (google it), but’s it’s like 3 mins and they are perfect. The egg shells basically fall of which is the part I hate from boiling them.

I bought an Instant Pot last year. It is really nice for cooking fast. Mine has the sous vide function and I’ve done steak and chicken breasts with it. The steaks are the same level of doneness all the way through. The chicken breast was cut with a fork.

chomps wrote:

Slider, I noticed that also (more of a gelatin consistency) I also save shrimp shells and make a seafood stock for jambalaya. It’s always best to go big, so I went with the 8qt instapot. Sharon, next thing that you need to try is sous vide. Game changer!

souse vide………boiling your meat in a bag………… no thanks!!!!!!!

Sous vide is Not even close to a boiling point, best way to get a perfect steak or even a whole prime rib or better yet, a whole NY strip. Results are perfect and does take any brain cells at all.

sliderfishn wrote:

Andy,
IMO, While the 6qt is big enough, I highly getting the 8qt
You can always make smaller batches in the 8qt.
The time difference in cooking time is minimal.

Ron

The 8qt is $40 more than the 6qt, is it worth the extra $40?

chomps wrote:

Results are perfect and does take any brain cells at all.

And that sounds perfect for me, years of hard drinking has killed off many of my brain cells.

chomps wrote:

Sous vide is Not even close to a boiling point, best way to get a perfect steak or even a whole prime rib or better yet, a whole NY strip. Results are perfect and does take any brain cells at all.

suit yourself…… not trying to start an arguemnt…… my choice has always been and always will be the grill!!!!!!

It’s been nearly 8 months since I’ve wanted seconds while eating dinner, but tonight was the night! I made one of my favorite dishes, InstantPot mac and cheese with sriracha sauce, and added some of the shredded chicken. It is fantastic!! 😋

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I think the steaks are cooked sous vide at 135 degrees for 60-90 minutes. Take it out and brown it on the grill. As close to perfection as you can get. I still grill a steak occasionally since the sous vide does take longer. Many, many restaurants use sous vide.

Science of sous-vide: Why more chefs embrace cooking in water

sliderfishn wrote:

As a retired chef, the instant pot stock is better than what I use to make and we cooked our stock for 10+ hours. It almost turns into jello when cooled.

Retired? I thought I was older than you. Well heck, we better go fishing and discuss this further.

SR

Steve Root wrote:

Retired? I thought I was older than you.

You are….

Well heck, we better go fishing and discuss this further.

I could probably squeeze that in..

Got out after 35 years of doing it, 27 at the same place.
Working a killer job now, mon-thur 6:30 to 4, Fri 6:30 to 10, fishing by 2 up North.
Let’s make it work, Steve.

Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:

The 8qt is $40 more than the 6qt, is it worth the extra $40?

$99 on Amazon.
I do believe that the price is worth the larger size. You will appreciate the extra size when you start making soups, beef tips, and other items that you can freeze.
But I will say, it is not my money that you are spending.
Ron

Ron, Sharon. I keep all the necks and skins that come with a whole frozen chicken plus wing tips and all the bones and grizzle from cooked chickens in a gallon sized freezer bag. When I have two or three such bags in the freezer I thaw them and dump it all in a big roaster and bake it at 300 degrees for an hour, then I stir it all and give it another half hour. From the oven it goes straight to a burner on the stove with about three quarts of water added….just enough to cover the browned parts. Some salt gets added. I simmer this maybe three hours then strain all the bones and stuff out of the broth its made and let the broth cool, then refrigerate for use in a day or so as soup or frozen for another day/project. This broth will get just like jello. If I am going to use this as soup, I add carrot ends and peelings, a small chopped onion and leafy celery tops to the pan just before simmering. The carrots go into the soup as does the chopped celery along with boned chicken meat.

Broth is always great when you have time to brown and carmelized them in the oven before a slow simmer to extract the marrow.
When doing your broth in the instant pot, one will miss the darker color of broth but you will not miss any of the flavor.