This is your answer, to be safe. Pasteurization is a function of heat and time. I have done souse vide cooking (vacuum bag in a warm water bath) and eaten chicken breast at a done temp of 145°F (135°F is the lowest done temp I've seen a recipe for.) Bacteria in chicken with 5% fat content is killed in 9 minutes at 145°F (it takes almost 70 minutes at 135°F), but it takes an hour in the warm water for the temp to conduct all the way to the center of the breast...then the killing begins! Bacteria is instantly killed at a temp of 165°F, which is why this is the recommended "done" temp...there is no doubt it's safe. The low setting on a Crock Pot is 180°F. I have no idea what temp that block of frozen chicken would keep the air inside the crock pot until it thawed and things heated up to 180°F. I guess we have personal testimonies that doing what Marie wants to do won't kill you. Yeh, I do this all the time in vacuum sealed bags...but I have never thawed a whole chicken this way. When I thaw chicken parts & fish using this method, I put them in the pan of cold water and then put the whole thing in my fridge, just to be safe...I always keep the fridge temp around 37°F. I'm not so fussy with beef...I leave it in the pan of cold water on the countertop because it defrosts so quickly (a frozen steak will defrost in 15 minutes or so in a large pan of cold water.)
I never buy whole chickens anymore except for rotisserie birds. So the chicken in my freezer is breasts, stored 2 breasts to a package.
I used to, back in the day when they were 49¢/pound. I would cut them up, cook the legs/thighs/breasts in whatever way I wanted, and make stock out of the back & the bits. If I felt like roasting a whole bird, I would get Cornish Game Hens.
I am older than dirt and there's just 2 of us and the instant pot is a godsend. We cook up things like soups, stews, beef/chicken and noodles, etc and put them into meal rotation, eating tasty leftovers that can be put in the fridge or freezer. That is, "cook once quickly and eat several times leisurely.
Is that instant pot like a pressure cooker? I used to use that all the time. Also, we cook extra to put up too.I baked 2 whole chickens today. One in oven,one in crock pot.
The Instant Pot is like a pressure cooker. It is also a heating and saute pot. For example, when I made beef and noodles last night, I sauteed the beef cubes, deglazed the pot with beef stock, added chopped onion, added a can of mushroom soup, spices, etc. and (pressure) cooked for 25 minutes. Then I released the pressure, added the noodles and (pressure) cooked 8 more minutes. In about 35 minutes or so, we had a nice meal for two with enough leftovers for two more meals and perhaps a lunch dish. Total prep time was just minutes.
Kay, the Instant Pot brand is the most well known. If you keep an eye out, you'll probably find some great deals around the Black Friday sales. Amazon usually has a good price during the holidays. I have an Instant Pot and a Breville brand; both work really well.
The Brand is Instant Pot. You almost can't go wrong and there are a ton of online recipes for it. Favorites around here are beef vegetable soup, chicken and noodles, beef stroganoff and corned beef and cabbage.