I guess I'm in the minority but I thought this was a lot of work for ok but not great chicken. I thought it had a very chickeny taste. However I used fresh garlic--I hate the aftertaste that garlic powder leaves. The skin did split on mine but I looseded the skin in order to put the seasonings and garlic underneath. I was amazed at the amount of fat and liquid in the pan by the end, and it certainly was pretty, but in future I think just a chicken breast with bone in baked for half an hour or so is easier and tastier.

Hi Lope, Yes, it is safe , and very yummy. MAke sure you cook it for the 5 hours, it will be moist, but throughly cooked.

We have been making this recipe for years...got the original recipe right here on this forum...we ended up re naming it "Five Hour Chicken". My kids would come home from school and smell the aroma and say "Yipee Five Hour Chicken!" They now have moved into places of their own and make it themselves....we all triple the rub recipe and keep a jar on hand at all times...the rub works great on my BBQ Pork rib recipe as well!! Both are family favourites!!

A 4.5 lb. chicken is 1.5 lbs. heavier than the 3 lb. chicken used in the recipe that I posted. You should definitely NOT cook it less than the 5 hours and it may take MORE time because you are cooking a bigger bird. To be safe, you should check the bird with a meat thermometer after 5 hours at 250F in the meatiest part of the thigh. The temp should be up to 180F and if it is not up to that temp, I would put it back in to roast for another 30 minutes, then check the temp again. Poultry should always be throughly cooked and have no pink juices flowing when stuck with a fork or tip of a sharp knife. Please be careful to check the temp of the bird before you take it out of the oven and pronounce it done.