The basic recipe for juicy and tender oven-roasted whole chicken with crispy skin and lemon flavor. Learn about the right temperatures and cooking times. Show
Roast chicken: one of the most beloved dishes in the world probably. Definitely one of my favorite meals. And I can hardly find another dish that makes my kids happier, either a whole roasted one or just some thighs or drumsticks. We eat chicken every week in one form or another. A quick meal like these Basic Skillet Chicken Breast or something like these Baked Legs in Honey Mustard Sauce. Or cooked in some sauce like the Paprikash with Dumplings or the Garlic and Roast Pepper Sauce. Do you wash chicken before cooking?The answer is a clear NO! Do not wash it before you cook it; it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Only cooking the bird until it reaches an internal temperature of at least 73 degrees Celsius/165 degrees Fahrenheit will guarantee that all the bacteria will be killed. Washing it in your sink will only cause this bacteria to contaminate your sink and other surfaces. There has been a long debate on this issue for many years now. Like Julia Child, many well-known chefs always talk about washing poultry in their recipes, and many people nowadays still cannot imagine not washing it. However, it is definitely not worth the risk of having those dangerous germs all over your kitchen afterward. The USDA – Food Safety and Inspection Service says: “Washing raw poultry before cooking it is not recommended. Bacteria in raw meat and poultry juices can be spread to other food, utensils, and surfaces. This is called cross-contamination. Rinsing or soaking does not destroy bacteria. Only cooking will destroy any bacteria that might be present on fresh chicken.” NHS in the UK says that about 50% of the chicken sold in the UK carries the Campylobacter bacteria, which can cause belly pains, diarrhea, and vomiting. “Washing raw chicken before cooking it can increase your risk of food poisoning from campylobacter bacteria. Splashing water from washing it under a tap can spread the bacteria onto hands, work surfaces, clothing, and cooking equipment.” Also, make sure you have an extra chopping board, preferably a large one, just for poultry. I have a large plastic one that I can wash in the dishwasher after using it, making sure that the hot water kills all the germs on it. Making a whole roast chicken in the oven is not difficult at all. However, to make sure that the results are just what you were hoping for, you should follow a few steps.
How long to roast a whole chicken?
General rule for chicken roasting timesRegarding the cooking times for a whole roast chicken, I have been following this rule found in a cookbook for years: roast the chicken at 200 degrees Celsius/ 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes per 500 g/ 1.1 lbs plus 30 minutes. This rule makes it easier for me, especially when cooking the larger than the-norm farmer’s birds I can buy directly from the farms around here. So, if your chicken weighs 1500 g/ 3.3 lbs, you should roast it for about 60 minutes for its weight plus the extra 30 minutes, so a total time of 90 minutes. Of course, always check if the internal temperature is reached either with the meat thermometer or with the skewer like indicated above. What to serve it with?
What to do with leftovers?A regular bird of about 1,2-1,5 kg/ 2.6-3.3 lbs should be enough for about 4 people, maybe even 5. However, if it is larger, you will probably have some leftovers. The bones:
Leftover meat:
More roasted chicken recipes
Serving: 1/4 of the chicken | Calories: 729kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 73g | Fat: 45g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 26g | Cholesterol: 297mg | Sodium: 1054mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g How long does an average whole chicken take to cook?The short answer here is: set your oven to 350 degrees F. Put your whole, unstuffed chicken in the oven, and it's going to take 20 to 25 minutes for every pound that chicken weighs.
Is it better to bake a whole chicken at 350 or 400?It all depends on what you are looking for. For extremely tender, fall off the bone meat and soft skin, roast between 300 and 350 degrees. For firmer meat and crisp skin, roast the chicken around 425 degrees F.
How long does a chicken take to cook at 350?Cooking tips
chicken breast at 350°F (177˚C) for 25 to 30 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to check that the internal temperature is 165˚F (74˚C).
How long does it take to bake a whole chicken at 400?Roast the chickens at 400 degrees for about an hour and a half, depending on the size of the birds. The way I figure time for this is to take the average weight of one of the chickens (say, 4.5 lbs) and calculate 15 minutes per pound (that would be about 67 minutes for a 4.5 lb chicken).
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