advice on this roast chicken recipe for a beginner cook

[Anonymous]

I clipped this recipe from an old post here...

"Roast whole chicken with red potatoes, sweet potatoes, apples & onion.

Preheat oven to 500.
Chop veggies. Toss with oil & S & P. put in roasting pan.
Pat down chicken with paper towels inside & out. Rub with oil & S & P. add to roasting pan, breast down
Turn oven down to 400, chuck it in. After 45 min, flip it breast up & cook another 45.

Not fast, but so so easy & definite crowd pleaser. Bonus of delicious leftovers. "

I'm making this tonight and have a few questions for the more experienced cooks..

1) I chopped the veggies/potatoes etc all fairly big, since they'll be in the oven for an hour and a half at 400. Sound right?
2) roasting pan.. the kind you use for a turkey, as opposed to a jelly roll pan, right?
3) really -- no other seasonings than the salt, pepper, and oil ?
4) what kind of oil?
5) I just got a convection oven.. should I use the convection function for this?

Clearly I need it spelled out for me. Thanks so much!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I clipped this recipe from an old post here...

"Roast whole chicken with red potatoes, sweet potatoes, apples & onion.

Preheat oven to 500.
Chop veggies. Toss with oil & S & P. put in roasting pan.
Pat down chicken with paper towels inside & out. Rub with oil & S & P. add to roasting pan, breast down
Turn oven down to 400, chuck it in. After 45 min, flip it breast up & cook another 45.

Not fast, but so so easy & definite crowd pleaser. Bonus of delicious leftovers. "

I'm making this tonight and have a few questions for the more experienced cooks..

1) I chopped the veggies/potatoes etc all fairly big, since they'll be in the oven for an hour and a half at 400. Sound right?
2) roasting pan.. the kind you use for a turkey, as opposed to a jelly roll pan, right?
3) really -- no other seasonings than the salt, pepper, and oil ?
4) what kind of oil?
5) I just got a convection oven.. should I use the convection function for this?

Clearly I need it spelled out for me. Thanks so much!

First of all, how big is your chicken? If it's smaller than 4 pounds, 90 mins sounds long.

1) Sounds right
2) Yes - with raised sides
3) Really. You can add more spices if you want (rosemary, paprika, etc), but oil, s and p is all you need.
4) Olive or vegetable. Doesn't matter.
5) You don't have to. If you use the convection feature, you'll either want to reduce the heat by 25 degrees or the time by 15 mins.

[Anonymous]

1) Yes, chop them into quarters
2) You need a roasting pan because there is a lot of grease and drippings. Don't use a baking sheet.
3) You could add some combo of sage, thyme, rosemary if you like. Don't use fresh garlic -- it will burn quickly.
4) Whatever you have -- preferably something with a high smoke point like canola, grapeseed, or vegetable. If you only have olive oil though, that is fine.
5) Yes but you might want to lower the temp by 25 degrees and monitor carefully -- you will need less cooking time (most likely).

Also, this will smoke the crap out of your house, so be prepared.

[Anonymous]

1) I would chop veggies/potatoes in 1-2" chunks,
2) Yes - roasting pan
3) Salt and pepper sound fine - truthfully, I don't even pepper and it comes out great.
4) Olive oil
5) Use convect.

The time to cook will depend greatly on the size of chicken. If you want to fool-proof this, get a roasting chicken that has a 'pop-up' thermometer.

[Anonymous]

OP here, I got a 6.8 pound oven stuffer whole roaster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, I got a 6.8 pound oven stuffer whole roaster.

Then the time seems right to me. You'll also know when it's done if the legs wiggle loosely in their sockets.

I don't think it will smoke up your house, but if you're worried, lay some aluminum foil down on the oven rack. The goal is to keep any spurting fat from hitting the oven floor -- that's usually what causes the smoke.

[Anonymous]

This is all so wrong. You dont flip a roaster chicken.

1) Buy the Perdue Extra Meaty Roaster chicken - it has that popper that pops when its done.

2) Rinse it off, take the bag of guts out of it, and put it in a pan.

3) Rub olive oil on it. For seasoning, use McCormick's Lemon Pepper (not any other brand). Or, just use salt and pepper.

4) Follow the plastic package instructions. Should be 425 degrees for about 15-20 mins per pound.

5) Just make the veggies separate in a pan with olive oil. Sprinkle a dash of salt to season.

[Anonymous]

obviously, the popper should be on top (so the other side of the chicken should be on the bottom the whole time).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is all so wrong. You dont flip a roaster chicken.

1) Buy the Perdue Extra Meaty Roaster chicken - it has that popper that pops when its done.

2) Rinse it off, take the bag of guts out of it, and put it in a pan.

3) Rub olive oil on it. For seasoning, use McCormick's Lemon Pepper (not any other brand). Or, just use salt and pepper.

4) Follow the plastic package instructions. Should be 425 degrees for about 15-20 mins per pound.

5) Just make the veggies separate in a pan with olive oil. Sprinkle a dash of salt to season.

You can. But you don't have to.

http://www.lhj.com/recipes/healthy/eating/alice-waters-and-the-art-of-simple-food/?page=2

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/best-ever-roast-chicken.aspx

[Anonymous]

Please don't rely on the popper in a chicken. They're really unreliable--sometimes they just don't pop out, other times the breast may be done while the thighs aren't, or the thighs will be horrendously overcooked. The pop-up thermometer pops when it hits 175 and chicken only needs to be cooked to 165.

Get a meat thermometer. Much more accurate.

[Anonymous]

I always flip my roast chicken so FWIW i dont think it matters hugely.

After you are done with all the meat, take the bones and carcass, throw it in a pot, add the juice of a lemon and it's rind, carrots, celery, onion, more S&P, thyme, rosemary, any spices you like, cover that with water, bring it to a boil, and then let it simmer for an hour or two. freeze for homemade chicken broth for soups and other recipes.

[Anonymous]

I would really, really encourage you to get a meat thermometer instead of trying to use time and uneven oven temperatures to cook the chicken.

[Anonymous]

Costco Roast chicken - $5 fresh from the roaster...

Get 2 of them ...

[Anonymous]

PPs have you covered. All I would add:

1. For what it's worth, I think flipping is a good idea. I do it. Not essential, but guarantees a breast that's done and not dried out.
2. This isn't going to generate a lot of smoke as PP said. Don't worry about smoke point. Olive oil is fine; that's what I use. But really, any oil is fine--whatever you prefer or whatever you have.
3. I do this in a 12" cast iron skillet. That'll work if you have one. Or you can use a regular roasting pan, or a 9 x 13 rectangular pan. Don't use a huge turkey-size roasting pan if you have something that's closer to the size of your chicken.
4. If you really like roasting chickens, there's a Spanish covered terra cotta roaster that really does this great. I think it's called a cazuela? Not essential by any means but they're pretty inexpensive if you run across one and they do a great job.

[Anonymous]

Oh, and definitely don't rely on a pop-up timer.