Basic Roast Chicken Recipes

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.

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.

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.

Steps:

• In a bowl, mix the salt, sugar, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Rub the chicken with the mixture. Cover chicken, and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).
• Stuff the chicken cavity with the garlic. Place the chicken, breast side down, on a rack in a roasting pan.
• Roast 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce heat to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C), and continue roasting 15 minutes. Baste chicken with pan drippings, reduce heat to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C), and continue roasting 30 minutes, to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F (85 degrees C). Let stand 20 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Mix butter, garlic, thyme, rosemary, lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together in a bowl.
• Loosen skin on chicken breast; rub butter mixture between skin and breast meat. Press on the skin to distribute evenly. Rub oil, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper all over; place lemon halves inside cavity. Set in a baking pan.
• Roast in the preheated oven, basting after 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink, about 1 hour. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone, should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Let rest before carving, about 15 minutes.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Steps:

• Preheat convection oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Rub chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle both sides with salt and Creole seasoning. Place chicken in a broiler pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Flip chicken and cook until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 15 minutes more. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
• Remove chicken from pan. Pour water into the pan, while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add more water if needed to dislodge the browned bits; serve alongside 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.

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.