Basic Roast Chicken Recipes

SIMPLE ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Place onion, garlic, tarragon and thyme into the cavity of the chicken. Tie the legs together with kitchen string, mostly closing the cavity opening. Pull the wings so the tips overlap on top of the breast; tie in place, wrapping string around the wings and body. Rub the chicken with oil, salt and pepper. Set in a roasting pan, breast-side down.
• Roast the chicken for 25 minutes. Turn breast-side up and continue roasting, basting occasionally with pan juices, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, without touching bone, registers 175 degrees F, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Transfer to a cutting board; let rest for 10 minutes. Remove the string before carving.

PERFECT ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
• Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

BASIC ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Sprinkle the inside of the chickens liberally with salt and pepper. Stuff each bird with 3 sprigs thyme, 2 cloves garlic, the bay leaf, onion and lemon. As the chickens cook, this will help keep them moist and also flavor the bird from the inside.
• Using kitchen twine, tie the legs together of each bird, and then tuck the wing tips underneath each body so it cooks evenly. Place the birds on a roasting rack over a roasting tray then sprinkle them with salt and pepper.
• Place in the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the joint between the leg and thigh registers 165 degrees F, approximately 1 hour more. When the chicken is done, the skin will be crispy and golden and the juices of the chicken will run clear. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes before serving.

STUPID SIMPLE ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Place chicken into a roasting pan and insert lemon halves into the cavity; spread kosher salt over outside of chicken.
• Roast in the preheated oven until skin is browned and crisp, the juices run clear, and an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh, not touching bone, reads 160 degrees F (70 degrees C), about 1 hour. Let chicken rest for 15 minutes before carving.

BASIC ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place your roasting pan in the oven, and preheat to 425 degrees.
• Wash the chicken inside and out with cold water. Pat it as dry as possible with paper towels.
• With a sharp knife, make 3 or 4 slashes across each of the thighs.
• Rub the entire chicken, including the interior cavity, with olive oil, and then with salt and pepper.
• Carefully separate the skin of the breast from the meat, and work some olive oil, salt, and pepper into the gaps with your hand.
• Tuck the wings up under the back of the chicken. Cross the legs, and tie it up as tightly as possible with kitchen twine.
• Pull the hot tray out of the oven, and place the chicken on it breast side down. Return to the oven and cook for 5 minutes.
• Turn the chicken over onto the other breast, and cook another 5 minutes.
• Turn the chicken on it's back, and cook for 1 hour.
• Let it rest for 5 - 10 minutes before serving.

JUICY ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Place chicken in a roasting pan, and season generously inside and out with salt and pepper. Sprinkle inside and out with onion powder. Place 3 tablespoons margarine in the chicken cavity. Arrange dollops of the remaining margarine around the chicken's exterior. Cut the celery into 3 or 4 pieces, and place in the chicken cavity.
• Bake uncovered 1 hour and 15 minutes in the preheated oven, to a minimum internal temperature of 180 degrees F (82 degrees C). Remove from heat, and baste with melted margarine and drippings. Cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest about 30 minutes before serving.

PERFECT ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Let chicken and 1 tablespoon butter stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove and discard the plastic pop-up timer from chicken if there is one. Remove the giblets and excess fat from the chicken cavity. Rinse chicken inside and out under cold running water. Dry chicken thoroughly with paper towels. Tuck the wing tips under the body. Sprinkle the cavity of the chicken liberally with salt and pepper, and set aside.
• In the center of a heavy-duty roasting pan, place onion slices in two rows, touching. Place the palm of your hand on top of lemon and, pressing down, roll lemon back and forth several times. This softens the lemon and allows the juice to flow more freely. Pierce entire surface of lemon with a fork. Using the side of a large knife, gently press on garlic cloves to open slightly. Insert garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, and lemon into cavity. Place chicken in pan, on onion slices. Cut about 18 inches of kitchen twine, bring chicken legs forward, cross them, and tie together.
• Spread the softened butter over entire surface of chicken, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Place in the oven, and roast until skin is deep golden brown and crisp and the juices run clear when pierced, about 1 1/2 hours. When chicken seems done, insert an instant-read thermometer into the breast, then the thigh. The breast temperature should read 180 degrees and the thigh 190 degrees.
• Remove chicken from oven, and transfer to a cutting board with a well. Let chicken stand 10 to 15 minutes so the juices settle. Meanwhile, pour the pan drippings into a shallow bowl or fat separator, and leave onions in the pan. Leave any brown baked-on bits in the bottom of the roasting pan, and remove and discard any blackened bits. Using a large spoon or fat separator, skim off and discard as much fat as possible. Pour the remaining drippings and the juices that have collected under the resting chicken back into the roasting pan. Place on the stove over medium-high heat to cook, about 1 minute. Add chicken stock, raise heat to high, and, using a wooden spoon, stir up and combine the brown bits with the stock until the liquid is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Strain the gravy into a small bowl, pressing on onions to extract any liquid. Discard onions, and stir in the remaining tablespoon of cold butter until melted and incorporated. Untie the legs, and remove and discard garlic, thyme, and lemon. Carve, and serve gravy on the side.

JACQUES PEPIN'S BASIC ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Sprinkle the chicken inside and out with the salt and pepper and fold the wings akimbo to position them closer to the body. Place the chicken on its side in an oven-safe skillet, preferably cast-iron.
• Place the chicken in the skillet in the oven and cook for 20 minutes, then turn the chicken over and cook another 20 minutes. (By cooking the chicken on its sides, the juices stay in the breast and, since only the back is exposed, the chicken does not need constant basting.) Finally, turn the chicken onto its back, baste it with the cooking juices and continue to cook 10 minutes. It should be golden in color.
• When the chicken is cooked, cut it into pieces and serve, with the drippings on the side.

BASIC ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Remove the package of gizzards, heart, liver and neck from the cavity of the chicken. Except for the liver, these parts can be used to make stock. You may wish to freeze them until you have the innards of several chickens. Saute the liver and spread on toast or freeze it separately, adding to your supply of frozen livers as you buy whole chickens.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Rinse the chicken with cold water and pat it dry on a paper towel. Pull off any excess fat from the back of the cavity near the tail. This fat can be sauteed slowly in a small skillet to use for frying or it can be frozen for future use. Pull out with tweezers or singe over an open flame any large pinfeathers on the wings. Sqeeze the juice of half the lemon into the cavity and rub it in.
• Rub the outside of the chicken with the oil or butter. Season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. Tuck the lemon halves and the parsley into the cavity. Quarter one of the onions and tuck the quarters into the cavity.
• The chicken will hold its shape better if is trussed. At the very least, tuck the wing tips behind the chicken and, using butcher's cord, tie the legs together. To truss the chicken completely, first loop cord around the tail and crisscross it around the legs, pulling the legs together tightly. Then run the length of cord along the sides of the chicken, just under the drumstick and through the wing joints, pulling the ends together across the back near the neck, securing the extra flap of neck skin under the cord. Tie the cord securely, making for a tight, plump-looking bird.
• Slice the remaining onion and scatter it in the roasting pan. Position the chicken on a rack and place in the oven. Roast for 13 to 15 minutes a pound, until the juices run clear when the meaty flesh of the upper thigh is pricked with a sharp fork. If the onions in the pan appear to be browning too rapidly while the chicken is roasting, add a little water to the pan. The onions should become dark brown but should not be allowed to blacken.
• Remove the chicken to a platter or cutting surface and allow it to rest 10 to 15 minutes before carving.
• Skim any excess fat from the roasting pan. Add several tablespoons of water to the roasting pan, place it on top of the stove over medium heat and stir, scraping up any browned bits clinging to the pan. Strain the pan juices into a small saucepan. These juices can be seasoned with salt and pepper and used to moisten the portions of chicken or can be used to make a gravy. Add the wine or stock to the juices and bring to a simmer. Dissolve the cornstarch in one tablespoon cold water and stir into the gravy mixture. Simmer until thickened, then season.
• Carve the chicken by cutting through the joints to remove the drumsticks and wings, then slicing the breast meat and thigh meat. Arrange the meat on a platter and serve either moistened with pan juices or with the gravy on the side.

SIMPLE ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Put the chicken in a large roasting tin, then stuff the garlic and bay leaves into the cavity. Rub the outside of the chicken with butter, then squeeze over the lemon juice and add the lemon halves to the inside of the chicken. Season inside and out, then cook the chicken for 20 mins.
• Turn the oven down to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and cook for a further 45 mins or until the chicken juices run clear when you pierce the thigh with a knife. Leave to rest for 15 mins before carving.

EASY ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Tie chicken legs together with kitchen twine (tuck wings under chicken, if desired, for a neater presentation). Place chicken on a rack set in a roasting pan (or on a rimmed baking sheet).
• Rub chicken all over with butter; season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees when inserted in the thickest part of a thigh (avoiding bone), 45 to 50 minutes. Serve, or let cool before refrigerating, up to 3 days, covered.

REALLY EASY ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• KIDS: The writing in bold is for you. ADULTS: The rest is for you. Cut the string off the chicken. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Get your child to use a pair of scissors to cut the elastic or string holding the chicken together.
• Stuff the chicken. Stuff the lemon halves in the cavity of the chicken with the garlic and herb sprig (if using).
• Time to get your hands mucky. Sit the chicken in a large roasting tin and use your hands to smear the butter all over it.
• Easy-peasy vegetables. Tip the carrots and potatoes into a large bowl, drizzle over the oil and toss everything together with your hands.
• Scatter the vegetables around the chicken. Scatter the vegetables in an even layer around the chicken, then season everything. Put the chicken in the oven and roast for 30 mins. Remove from the oven and give the vegetables a stir, reduce the heat to 200C/180C fan/gas 6, then return to the oven for 50 mins more.
• Test if the chicken is cooked. Remove the chicken from the oven. Using a cloth, pull the leg - if it easily comes away from the body, there is no sign of pink and the juices run clear, the chicken is cooked. If you have a digital cooking thermometer, it should read above 70C. Take the chicken out of the tin.
• Make a lemony sauce. Scoop the vegetables into a serving dish. Using a spoon or a pair of tongs, remove the garlic, lemon and herbs from the chicken and put them in the roasting tin. Squash them down well with a potato masher to release all the juice from the lemons.
• Strain the sauce. Pour in the chicken stock and soy sauce and give it all a good stir. Get the child to hold a sieve over a jug while you lift up the pan and strain the juices into the jug. If you want it piping hot, reheat in a pan or in the microwave.

MY FAVORITE SIMPLE ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rinse the chicken, then dry it very well with paper towels, inside and out. The less it steams, the drier the heat, the better.
• Salt and pepper the cavity, then truss the bird. Trussing is not difficult, and if you roast chicken often, it's a good technique to feel comfortable with. When you truss a bird, the wings and legs stay close to the body; the ends of the drumsticks cover the top of the breast and keep it from drying out. Trussing helps the chicken to cook evenly, and it also makes for a more beautiful roasted bird.
• Now, salt the chicken-I like to rain the salt over the bird so that it has a nice uniform coating that will result in a crisp, salty, flavorful skin (about 1 tablespoon). When it's cooked, you should still be able to make out the salt baked onto the crisp skin. Season to taste with pepper.
• Place the chicken in a sauté pan or roasting pan and, when the oven is up to temperature, put the chicken in the oven. I leave it alone-I don't baste it, I don't add butter; you can if you wish, but I feel this creates steam, which I don't want. Roast it until it's done, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove it from the oven and add the thyme, if using, to the pan. Baste the chicken with the juices and thyme and let it rest for 15 minutes on a cutting board.
• Remove the twine. Separate the middle wing joint and eat that immediately. Remove the legs and thighs. I like to take off the backbone and eat one of the oysters, the two succulent morsels of meat embedded here, and give the other to the person I'm cooking with. But I take the chicken butt for myself. I could never understand why my brothers always fought over that triangular tip-until one day I got the crispy, juicy fat myself. These are the cook's rewards. Cut the breast down the middle and serve it on the bone, with one wing joint still attached to each. The preparation is not meant to be superelegant. Slather the meat with fresh butter. Serve with mustard on the side and, if you wish, a simple green salad. You'll start using a knife and fork, but finish with your fingers, because it's so good.