how to roast a whole chicken?

Burp_2

I have a chicken roasting in the oven!

This may sound silly to others but I consider myself to be a fairly experienced cook ... I've been cooking since a teenager (am 27 now!) and I have never cooked a whole chicken before! :rotfl:

I always buy the chicken breasts ... which work out very expensive and a little dry in my opinion

I have never been shown how to roast a chicken and none of my cookbooks give you the basics lol ... but at Christmas I bought my OH an Usbourne Childrens cookery book in the hope he'd have a go at cooking for me one day and it gave you step by step details about what to do!

The chicken (if it tastes OK) will be making a curry and a stir fry this week

Only thing tho is it's splattering my cooker and it didn't say anything about covering it ... I rubbed butter under the skin like it said and this is spitting and popping everywhere! :eek:

SPANIEL36

i'm 31 i've never cooked a full chicken or joint of meat either,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Burp_2

SPANIEL36 wrote: »

i'm 31 i've never cooked a full chicken or joint of meat either,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

phew ... I'm not the only one then! :beer:

Reverbe

Be proud. wasnt so long ago I was the same. I have shared with flatmate who is veggy for many years so didnt bother with a whole chicken.I get them now as they are better value. eg I have a meal on Friday, butties for the footy on Saturday,a curry on Sunday, stirfry on Monday and put some in a soup. ONly thing I dont do is stock cos its too timeconsuming and most of my soups have to be veggy friendly..

Enjoy!!

knithryn

If it is spattering too much or going too crispy before it's time is up, you can loosely cover it with tinfoil for a while.
Also beware that you oven might smoke the next time you use it, as the chicken fat will probably have caused lots of little fat spots inside.

Now, have you got the roast spuds on?
While the oven is on you can do Paxo stuffing (dead easy - mix stuffng with hot water in a bowl and leave to stand for a few mins...add more water if necessary - all that dried bread needs to rejevenate). Make into balls and pop around the chicken in it's tray, or put in a shallow dish and fork the top, put in the oven at the same time as the chicken...takes about 30 mins or so.

Hope your chicken tastes good.... :-)

Little_Vics

Well done you! I can't remember the last time I cooked something for the first time (if you follow!) - maybe I should take the plunge again!

zippychick

How lovely Burp! Well done! I live alone so am not a big joint of meat cooker either.!

Reverbe - stock takes me little to no time . I use a slowcooker, but its exactly the same with a hob. Bones on to roast when something else is in the oven. Cover with boiling water, chuck in some whole peppercorns, couple of unpeeled carrots and onion chopped in two. Few bits of herbs, couple of bay leafs . Couldn't take me more than 5 mins in prep time. Boil, simmer , strain. I love jelly soup now:rotfl: Hmm Jelly is my cats brothers name , so maybe i should reword that!

maman

Burp wrote: »

I have a chicken roasting in the oven!

This may sound silly to others but I consider myself to be a fairly experienced cook ... I've been cooking since a teenager (am 27 now!) and I have never cooked a whole chicken before! :rotfl:

I always buy the chicken breasts ... which work out very expensive and a little dry in my opinion

I have never been shown how to roast a chicken and none of my cookbooks give you the basics lol ... but at Christmas I bought my OH an Usbourne Childrens cookery book in the hope he'd have a go at cooking for me one day and it gave you step by step details about what to do!

The chicken (if it tastes OK) will be making a curry and a stir fry this week

Only thing tho is it's splattering my cooker and it didn't say anything about covering it ... I rubbed butter under the skin like it said and this is spitting and popping everywhere! :eek:

Well done and lets hope it will be the first of many.

It's the fat that's causing the spitting. Probably best to put a piece of foil over the top and just take it off for the last 15mins to brown the skin (which is delicious but very fattening). It's not too late to do it now.

Sorry, cross posted!

Burp_2

Thanks guys

Just one question...

from my calculations the chicken will be cooked in 30 mins ... will do the skewer test to make sure BUT...

The botter I put under the skin has caused a lot of juices, I have basted twice now... can I pour these juices away to stop it spattering now? I'm not making a gravy or anything as its going to be a curry and a stir fry!

Burp x

Burp_2

maman wrote: »

Well done and lets hope it will be the first of many.

It's the fat that's causing the spitting. Probably best to put a piece of foil over the top and just take it off for the last 15mins to brown the skin (which is delicious but very fattening). It's not too late to do it now.

Sorry, cross posted!

Thanks! After 10 mins of spitting I made it a foil tent ... the cats were intrigued and sat watching the firework display whilst licking their lips! I shall take your advice and take it off for the last 15 mins