Perfect roast chicken recipe | Jamie Oliver Christmas recipes (2024)

FAQs

What not to do when roasting a chicken? ›

If you want your chicken to be truly roasted with crisp, golden-brown skin, it needs to spend time in the oven uncovered. If you find that some parts of the skin are browning more rapidly than others, you can loosely tent the browner parts with foil to allow the rest of the skin to catch up.

Truss the legs of the bird

It's a little fussy, but trussing a chicken has an important effect on the finished product: when the wings and legs are tucked in close to the body, the end of the drumstick covers part of the breast, making sure it stays moist and helping the chicken cook evenly.

On the temperature front, the differences between roasting and baking are fairly cut and dry. Both roasting and baking involve cooking with dry, ambient heat, usually in an oven. Roasting temperatures are typically above 400 degrees Fahrenheit while baking temperatures are about 375 degrees and below.

You can roast or bake anywhere between 325 and 450 degrees F. When roasting a whole chicken, a nice rule of them is to start at 400 to 425 degrees F and then turn the oven down to 350 after 15 minutes and cook until the internal temp of the chicken is 165 – 175 degrees F on an instant read thermometer.

Her suggestion: Place boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a pan in a single layer, cover with a few inches of liquid (water, broth, etc.), add flavorings (spices, salt, herbs, soy sauce, etc.), then bring the liquid just barely to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat so the liquid simmers.

Always let your bird come to room temperature, by leaving it outside of the fridge, covered, for an hour before cooking it. Why? Because your bird will cook unevenly otherwise. Many recipes suggest you rinse your bird before roasting it, but for most store-bought chickens this step isn't necessary.

“Put a little schmear of vegetable oil and because there is no water in it, the heat from the oven immediately begins to crisp up the skin and you don't end up with steam coming off the skin,” he says. Slow and steady when roasting.

Place the chicken in the pan in the center of the oven for 25 minutes. Turn the bird over — drying the bird and preheating the pan should keep the skin from sticking. Roast for another 10 minutes, then flip back over to re-crisp the breast skin, another 5 to 10 minutes.

Where should oven racks be placed for roasting a chicken or turkey? Chicken is best cooked on the middle rack. The bottom or lowest oven rack is best for roasting larger cuts of meat or whole turkeys. These thick cuts of meat can be cooked at higher temperatures at the bottom of the oven.

Should you put tin foil over roast chicken? ›

Weigh your chicken and calculate the cooking time according to the guide below. Sit the bird in a roasting tin slightly larger than the chicken, and don't cover it with foil or you won't achieve a crisp skin. Basting your chicken during cooking will help keep the meat moist.

Because chicken isn't a very fatty cut of meat, you'll want to add some fat to keep the meat hydrated. Most recipes use butter or oil for cooking chicken, but mayo is the better fat option when it comes to producing juicy chicken.

Fortunately I have one method that makes unfailingly juicy and tender boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Simply heat the chicken breasts quickly on the stovetop then let them poach from the inside out in their juices in a covered pan. Need some chicken for a salad, or to top some pasta? This is the method.

Temperatures beyond 160°F (71°C) are where the meat becomes irreversibly dry and tough. Temperature tracking is critical. For more information on exactly what's going on with protein fibers during the cooking process, see our post Heat and Its Effects on Muscle Fibers in Meat.

Directions. Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Season the beef with salt and pepper; sear in a hot roasting pan with the olive oil to brown on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes each side. Transfer to oven; roast, allowing 15 minutes a pound (450g) for rare or 20 minutes a pound (450g) for medium.

Weigh your chicken and calculate the cooking time according to the guide below. Sit the bird in a roasting tin slightly larger than the chicken, and don't cover it with foil or you won't achieve a crisp skin. Basting your chicken during cooking will help keep the meat moist.

Overcooking might play a role in your chicken's tire-like texture. Leaving chicken in a pan, oven, or grill for just a little too long can suck the moisture right out and leave you with a dry, rubbery bird. Without moisture, the protein fibers in the chicken become elastic.