I should add that it will brown too much at 400. So after 20 minutes, turn it to 350 |
Yes, I do garlic, lemon, and herbs in the cavity. If you're looking for delicious and not counting calories... I put herb/garlic butter under the skin. |
| Wrap the top/back of the chicken in about 6-8 slices of bacon - adds flavour & moisture! |
| Make sure you have a good working oven (I realized at some point our oven was failing, but gradually). Get a meat thermometer, the kind where you stick a probe right into the meat, and get an instant digital reading. This was a game changer. |
| Roasted chicken with caramelized leeks is my go to. Echoing what others have said, you must pat dry and salt the chicken all over, then stand it in the sink to drain it for at least an hour. Then salt and pepper again, cook in iron skillet at 425 until it gets to 365 (I disagree with taking it out at 355 to get to 365 our of the oven--the white will still have too much pink if you do that, and the dark meat won't be the right texture), then let sit for at least 20 minutes. |
| The best thermometers are the “real time” models (wired and unwired) that go into the oven and let you grab the bird out the second it reaches temperature. |
| This is OP coming back to report that thanks to DCUM I have been making delicious roast chickens. |
Which has been your favorite? I don’t usually roast chickens but maybe I’ll try! |
| Ina is the roast chicken queen so I’d use one of her recipes if I were you. That said, my mother covers the top of hers in bacon for extra moisture/flavour and that works brilliantly. |
| I put olive oil on mine and celery salt and thyme it tastes pretty good. |