I've never roasted a chicken....top tips for first attempt please

weegie_2

I hate to admit it....but I've never roasted a whole chicken from scratch. I dunno why...can do just about most other things. Fills me with fear - think I am gonna poison everyone!

Anyhoo. First attempt is this weekend. Obviously will follow instructions on packet...but does anyone have any top tips for creating a good roast chicken?

Thanks guys....

Weegie
x

skylight

Make sure the insides are removed.

My first attempt ever - I left them in the little plastic bag inside ............

(I was 17 though and just moved out - thats my excuse!)

wigginsmum

I've done that too

I generally heat oven to 180-deg C and calculate 20 minutes cooking time per pound in weight plus an extra 20 minutes. Rub the entire chicken with butter and season with salt and pepper. I usually sprinkle mine with celery salt to give it more flavour. I always cook stuffing separately.

liz545

weegie wrote:

I hate to admit it....but I've never roasted a whole chicken from scratch. I dunno why...can do just about most other things. Fills me with fear - think I am gonna poison everyone!

Anyhoo. First attempt is this weekend. Obviously will follow instructions on packet...but does anyone have any top tips for creating a good roast chicken?

Thanks guys....

Weegie
x

I generally roast a smallish chicken in a 180c oven for around 1.5 hours, but it's best to go by weight. Remove the plastic bag of giblets (if they've not already been removed), rub the chicken with a little butter, season with salt and pepper, and place a lemon (cut in two) in the cavity. I tend to start the chicken off breast side down, and turn it halfway through. It's not quite as bronzed this way, but it's much juicier. Thyme or rosemary are good flavourings, and you can sit it on top of a sliced onion (cut into 1cm thick slices then pop the chicken on top) to make a tastier gravy. I don't tend to worry about basting it, I just leave it be; don't carve the chicken straight from the oven - let it rest for 1/2 an hour - this stops all the juice running over the carving board! Good luck - roast chicken's pretty easy!

brokenwings

i always roasted my chicken the way mentioned above BUT have recently been converted to a faster and very tasty way of doing it thanks to Delia


NOTE: i dont do the lemon or taragon bit - i just push mixed herbs in with the garlic/shallot butter that goes inside


Fast-roast Chicken with Lemon and Tarragon

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/fast-roast-chicken-with-lemon-and-tarragon,1369,RC.html

brokenwings

oh and i i just use whatever chicken i have available ( approx 3lbs though but definately not french traditional lol )

robnye

defrost it if frozen.....
remove giblets (if there are any)
check wrapper - usually instructions on the other side
cook, until when you pucture chicken with knife, liquid comes out clear.

or as my step MIL does....... cook it until it falls a part......... he he

Kazonline

I've also found 'stuffing' it with a peeled potato helps to keep it moist.
Kaz x

Poser

buy a chicken roasting dish it has a lid and it cooks the chicken perfectly, the chicken meat just falls of the bones quailty

kittiwoz

I normally roast a chicken for about 1.5 hrs at 180C like Liz545. You normally find that when you peel the plastic off there are cooking instructions on the underside of the label. I normally put half a lemon and half an onion inside the cavity to help flavour it as it cooks. If you take the chicken out of the fridge a while before you cook it to let it warm up a little (say, while you are peeling the veg) then it is much easier to rub butter into the skin which will baste it as it cooks so you get a nice juicy chicken with a crispy skin. I sprinkle it with a little pepper for flavour and salt to help crisp the skin. Sometimes I also rub in paprika. I loosely cover the chicken with foil, which helps to keep it moist, and remove it 30 mins befre the end of cooking to let the skin crisp up. Let the bird rest for about 1/2 hour before you carve it, which will make it much easier to slice. Leave it in the oven (turned off) but prob the door open by wedging a wooden spoon in it or something. That way it won't go cold sat on the side.

You can stuff a chicken by sliding your hand between the skin and breast at the neck end to create a cavity quite easily but it doesn't work as well on all types of bird. I tried it with a duck once and just ended up making holes in the skin because it didn't come away from the meat easily. If you want to stuff the chiken you can use a bought stuffing mix to which you add water but it is quite easy to make your own stuffing and it is much nicer. What you do is finely chop half an onion, slice open a raw sausage an squeeze out the meat, crumble a slice of bread, add a tablespoon of dried herbs and a splash of lemon juice and a little boiling water (add it gradually) and squeeze it all together into a sort of dough. If you do stuff your chicken you need to allow for the extra weight by increasing the cooking time (by about 20 mins).

If you roast your potatoes or other veg under the cooking chicken the juices will make them taste extra good. I prefer not to parboil my potatoes because I think they are nicer that way so would just coat them in a little oil, give a shake of salt and put them straight in the oven. If you do the quick roast method suggested by broken wings you would need to parboil the potatoes.

I normally just make gravy by pouring all the juices produced by the cooking chicken into a pyrex jug and heating with some boiling water and gravy granules. I don't think too much to plain granule gravy but enriched by the meat juices I think it tastes good and it is certainly easy.

If you want to make bread sauce what you do is fry half a finely chopped onion in a tablespoon of butter over a low heat til it's soft and transparent, then add a slice of crumbed white bread. Gradually stir in milk as to make a white sauce. When you have a single cream consistency add a bay leaf, plenty of grated nutmeg and a dash of pepper and slowly simer over a very low light allowing the sauce to thicken. You may need to add a little extra milk if it starts to look like too much of a paste. Chuck the bay leaf before you serve it.

hex2

Rather than rub the butter on the skin I tuck slices under the skin on top of the breasts. Adapted from a Gary Rhodes trukey recipe ages ago - makes it self basting and improves cheap chicken a lot.