Help. Need a recipe for wonderful roasted chicken

lucky-girl · ‎04-02-2010

Any and all help appreciated

lucky

LilLadyNJ · ‎06-27-2017

The best roasted chicke I've made was very simple. I use an air-chilled organic chicken. Season generously with salt and pepper inside and outside of the chicken. If I have it, I add fresh thyme to the cavity and under the skin on the breast. Place on a large pan and keep uncovered in the fridge overnight to dry out the skin. If I don't have the time then I skip this step. Roast in a 400 degree oven (can add butter to the skin before) for about 45 to 50 mins. Baste two or three times in between.

panda1234 · ‎04-27-2015

Would you consider taking some help from Costco? I can not make a better roasted chicken and rely on them for that. Do you have a Costco nearby?

Toppers3 · ‎10-25-2016

@lucky-girl wrote:
Any and all help appreciated

lucky

Hi @lucky-girl ,

I roast a chicken similar to how I roast a turkey in terms of preparation.

I like to slow-roast the chicken, so that it is nice and moist and juicy on the inside, and also so that the breast meat stays moist, too.

I use a large enough roasting pan for the chicken, and I cover the pan on the inside with aluminum foil for easier clean-up. I then spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray, too, to help with clean-up.

Sometimes I'll also roast cut-up potatoes and other veggies along with the chicken, and sometimes I'll just roast the chicken by itself, and I'll make mashed potatoes on the side, for example.

If I'm going to roast some veggies with the chicken, I'll just cut the potatoes up with the skins on, and I'll also lightly oil them and season them too when I season the chicken.

This way, they'll roast right along with the chicken in the pan. I'll use either red or russet potatoes--whatever I have on hand.

I preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

I oil the chicken all over with a very light coating of cooking oil.

Then I season it with the seasonings, herbs, or spices that I want, seasoning to taste--how much flavor do I want for us.

Usually I will use some season salt, black pepper, some paprika, and some dried parsley. Sometimes I'll also use either a little garlic salt or garlic powder, and a little onion salt or onion powder on the chicken, too.

I'll put all of the seasonings on it, like a rub, and then rub them all over the whole chicken.

You can then either start out by roasting the chicken uncovered, and letting the chicken breast get to a nice light golden brown color to your liking.

Or, you can cover it up with aluminum foil first, and then uncover it to get a nice golden brown color on the breast towards the end of the cooking time.

I tend to let it get brown all over first, and then cover it with foil and let it finish roasting until it's done when checking with a meat thermometer for doneness.

Once it reaches that browning stage if you're going to let it brown first, you then want to cover it--tent it--with some aluminum foil so that it doesn't become too brown and starts to dry out.

You want the chicken to finish roasting so that it reaches doneness and a food safety cooking temperature of 165 F.

You want to check for doneness in the leg and thigh area as well as the breast area.

I use a meat thermometer to check for doneness.

The breast usually ends up cooking first, before the legs and thighs finish.

Depending on the size of the chicken that you're roasting, the total roasting time can take anywhere from approximately 1-1/2 hours, to up to 2 hours if you have a large roasting chicken.

This can also depend on your oven temp. and how hot your oven runs, too.

Once it's finished roasting, you want to let it cool off a bit first before you try and slice it for serving it.

aroc3435 · ‎09-30-2010

@lucky-girl Here is my Roast Chicken recipe tweaked over many years:

I use the zest and juice of 1 lemon, and dried herbs such as sage, savory, and thyme, and some celery seed if I have it, along with some ground black pepper and a pinch of coarse salt. I peel and cut up an onion in quarters, and place it in the cavity of the roaster along with the zested cut up lemon and the dried herbs, and half of the lemon juice and zest. If you don't have a lemon, you can substitute a fresh lime or an orange.

I lift the skin on either side of the breast bone being careful not to tear it and rub softened butter underneath it along with sprigs of fresh thyme or a couple of bay leaves. I then rub softened butter all over the outside of the chicken, along with the other half of the lemon juice and zest and place on a rack in a roasting pan in a preheated 450 degree oven. I immediately reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and roast for 15 to 20 minutes per pound.

I remove the roast from the oven and let it sit at least fifteen minutes before carving so it retains its juices.

patbz · ‎03-10-2010

The best gadget I ever bought, designed to roast chicken, is called a Spanek (upright roaster). You take a cake pan, put an inch of water in it, cram the chicken on the device, place it in center of cake pan (after seasoning chicken) and bake in a hot oven. The Spanek acts like a chimney, pulls steam up the center of chicken, and crisps the outside at same time. I'm sure either Amazon or Ebay sells them (they make them in different sizes, to accommodate artichokes, game hens, chickens and even turkey).

Toppers3 · ‎10-25-2016

Hi @aroc3435 ,

Your chicken recipe sounds delicious!

I'm going to have to give it a try one of these days.

We love to eat chicken here. It's one of our favorites.

NicksmomESQ · ‎08-19-2014

I make an excellent roast chicken on a vertical roaster.I pour beer or wine into the cone.I then add some cut up fresh garlic. I brush olive oil or melted butter on the outside of the chicken & sprinkle some garlic powder on it.I roast it on 375 degrees for 60-90 minutes depending on size of chicken.I let in rest for about 10 minutes.

I then carve it like a turkey.It comes out juicy,moist & full of flavor!!

Sometimes I cut up sweet potatoes & onions toss it with garlic powder & place it around the cone.I then pour additional wine/beer over it & let it cook with the chicken Delicious!!