(originally from Allrecipes.com)

By the time you get to the mushy/soft food stage, you'd probably rather poke out your eyes with a stick then see another Protein shake. chicken seems to sit well with lots of sleevers, but it's hard to get the meat moist enough to eat comfortably. This is a fabulous recipe that gives a chicken that great rotisserie style flavor and makes it moist and tender enough to eat or puree.

Original yield: two 4 lb whole chickens

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons salt
  
• 2 teaspoons paprika
  
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
  
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
  
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  
• 2 onions, quartered
  
• 2 (4 pound) whole chickens
  

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix together salt, paprika, onion powder, thyme, white pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder. Remove and discard giblets from chicken. Rinse chicken cavity, and pat dry with paper towel. Rub each chicken inside and out with spice mixture. Place 1 onion into the cavity of each chicken. Place chickens in a resealable bag or double wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 to 6 hours.
   
2. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
   
3. Place chickens in a roasting pan. Bake uncovered for 5 hours, to a minimum internal temperature of 180 degrees F (85 degrees C). Let the chickens stand for 10 minutes before carving.
   

My variation: Place one chicken directly into a pressure cooker on a wire rack, and cook for 25 minutes at high pressure. When finished, quickly release pressure. Let stand 10 minutes before carving.

I quadruple the spice rub and keep it on hand, we make this so often.

Thank you! Can't wait to try this. I will be on mushies next week.

Yum - sounds great (though if I cooked two 4-pound chickens, we'd be eating leftovers for 3 months! )

Sounds like you need to find yourself a new Protein shake though.... If you hate them that much you haven't found the right one yet!

Sounds delicious! Have you ever tried it with chicken pieces (breasts). No one in my family eats dark meat. Since you are rubbing the spice into the skin-is the flavor there when you remove the skin to eat?

Thanks so much. I wish more people would share recipes-Hint Hint to everyone reading this!!!

Thank you! I'm starting mushies next Tuesday and my food list is pretty strict. I'm going to try your recipe with chicken breasts! I can't wait to eat something other than protein shakes!

@DebiC: Yes, some of the commenters from Allrecipes.com said they had luck using this rub on chicken breasts. You'd have to adjust the cooking time, of course. Yes, much of the spice rub is distributed on the skin, which we don't eat, so I lift up the skin where I can (like on the breasts) and put the rub underneath it.

@Escape_pod: We never do both chickens at once either... we just make one, and save the spice blend for next time.

Yum yum! I think I'm going to make this tonight again. Leftover meat & bones are great for making broth too!