You can cook the chicken in the crockpot. I've done that by just putting the bird in, no extra liquid. Makes for a tender moist chicken, but the skin is flabby. If you want crispy skin, I would suggest 5-10 minutes under the broiler after it has been removed from the slow cooker.
I've never gotten browned skin from a crockpot. But you could pan-sear the chicken in a skillet with some olive oil and butter, to brown and crisp the skin, turning it a few times to get all sides. Then put the chicken in the crock pot, to cook through.
This is just a guess, but I'm wondering if it would work if you put the chicken into the crock pot without much liquid. The crock pot would then be more of an oven than a braising vessel? Just a thought.
I did it once and it was divine, but I don't really know what I did to get it like that and I've tried a couple more times without success... but talk about tender!
I hate to say it, but I don't know if this is possible. The nature of the crock pot is to hold in moisture and cook things very slowly--similar to braising. Condensation collects on the lid of the crock pot and falls back onto the food, preventing moisture loss but also inhibiting browning. I would go with the oven for this one--this is a scenario where a good, hot oven will do wonders. If you're worried about time, try butterflying the chicken (removing the backbone and flattening it) and roasting it at 400 degrees. It's a remarkably quick way to roast a chicken and results in highly delicious, bronzed skin.
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