[Food] Perfect Roast Chicken

[clapham_gull]

I'm obsessed with getting it right and it's been a lock down challenge. Today was the best so far. I've tried a number of things, marinade, brining etc.. But today worked sort of.

1) I "dry brine" the chicken overnight in the fridge. This involves carefully lifting the skin away from the breast and thighs (but keeping intact) and smearing the inside with a thick liquid chicken stock base. I use a famous American brand that is actually organic vegetarian. This appears to work much better than brining in liquid and adds much better flavour.

2) I also place generous amounts of unsalted butter with loads of raw grated garlic added under the skin and nudged down in the thighs.

3) Whatever herbs I have (usually rosemary and oregano) get whacked up the arse with a lemon.

4) Salt and pepper with a bit of olive oil are massaged over the whole chicken

5) The chicken is then "air dried" uncovered in the fridge overnight. This is important to dry out the skin.

You now get the problem of cooking evenly. I think that the chicken needs to be cooked from the bottom first (outside of the oven) to allow the legs and thighs to cook longer. So I cooked on the barbeque for an hour closed, but away from the coals. Basically the coals are placed at both ends with a gap in the middle where the chicken sat in a pan.

( I'm going to re-try this method using a griddle over a medium heat, probably keeping the bird above the pan with a grill )

With a digital thermometer, I noticed that the thighs were racing ahead of the breast so I finished off in the oven. One the breast had hit 72c, I noted the the thighs were hitting 80 which was perfect.

Lastly - I let the chicken rest for a good 20 mins, but not before injecting the residual juices in the pan with a meat injector back into the breast.

Result ? Absolutely perfectly cooked. Thighs done to perfection and buttery juices running from the breast with a dark David Dickenson crispy skin.

Probably a bit too smokey for my taste. I only bought the £30 BBQ from Argos for the chicken experiments. I've going to try "on the hob" to start off with next weekend.

 

[clapham_gull]

Another thing you can do is to HANG THE CHICKEN in the oven with string. It's a bit like the beer can method.

 

[Robinjakarta]

I'm obsessed with getting it right and it's been a lock down challenge. Today was the best so far. I've tried a number of things, marinade, brining etc.. But today worked sort of.

1) I "dry brine" the chicken overnight in the fridge. This involves carefully lifting the skin away from the breast and thighs (but keeping intact) and smearing the inside with a thick liquid chicken stock base. I use a famous American brand that is actually organic vegetarian. This appears to work much better than brining in liquid and adds much better flavour.

2) I also place generous amounts of unsalted butter with loads of raw grated garlic added under the skin and nudged down in the thighs.

3) Whatever herbs I have (usually rosemary and oregano) get whacked up the arse with a lemon.

4) Salt and pepper with a bit of olive oil are massaged over the whole chicken

5) The chicken is then "air dried" uncovered in the fridge overnight. This is important to dry out the skin.

You now get the problem of cooking evenly. I think that the chicken needs to be cooked from the bottom first (outside of the oven) to allow the legs and thighs to cook longer. So I cooked on the barbeque for an hour closed, but away from the coals. Basically the coals are placed at both ends with a gap in the middle where the chicken sat in a pan.

( I'm going to re-try this method using a griddle over a medium heat, probably keeping the bird above the pan with a grill )

With a digital thermometer, I noticed that the thighs were racing ahead of the breast so I finished off in the oven. One the breast had hit 72c, I noted the the thighs were hitting 80 which was perfect.

Lastly - I let the chicken rest for a good 20 mins, but not before injecting the residual juices in the pan with a meat injector back into the breast.

Result ? Absolutely perfectly cooked. Thighs done to perfection and buttery juices running from the breast with a dark David Dickenson crispy skin.

Probably a bit too smokey for my taste. I only bought the £30 BBQ from Argos for the chicken experiments. I've going to try "on the hob" to start off with next weekend.

Why not just shove the bird in the oven till done? Always works for me.

 

[elwheelio]

This is all fine but I prefer mine medium rare. Any tips for that?

 

[beorhthelm]

wouldnt it be easier to simply dismember thighs and legs, cook separately for different timings and adjust temperature?

 

[Goldstone1976]

wouldnt it be easier to simply dismember thighs and legs, cook separately for different timings and adjust temperature?

You mean like we do for cows, pigs, and lambs? Radical thinking.

It is slightly odd that we think that we can put very different cuts of meat into the oven at the same time, at the same temperature, and cook for the same time, and expect them all to come out perfect with a chicken. We wouldn’t expect it to work with braising steak and a ribeye... but the vast majority of us do expect it to be ok with a chicken.

My technique? I focus on the legs. If the breast is over cooked (it will be), so be it. Mind you, I like leg, and don’t much like breast, so all’s good. Perhaps I don’t much like breast because I always over cook it...

 

[Sid in the Sharknado]

I'm obsessed with getting it right and it's been a lock down challenge. Today was the best so far. I've tried a number of things, marinade, brining etc.. But today worked sort of.

1) I "dry brine" the chicken overnight in the fridge. This involves carefully lifting the skin away from the breast and thighs (but keeping intact) and smearing the inside with a thick liquid chicken stock base. I use a famous American brand that is actually organic vegetarian. This appears to work much better than brining in liquid and adds much better flavour.

2) I also place generous amounts of unsalted butter with loads of raw grated garlic added under the skin and nudged down in the thighs.

3) Whatever herbs I have (usually rosemary and oregano) get whacked up the arse with a lemon.

4) Salt and pepper with a bit of olive oil are massaged over the whole chicken

5) The chicken is then "air dried" uncovered in the fridge overnight. This is important to dry out the skin.

You now get the problem of cooking evenly. I think that the chicken needs to be cooked from the bottom first (outside of the oven) to allow the legs and thighs to cook longer. So I cooked on the barbeque for an hour closed, but away from the coals. Basically the coals are placed at both ends with a gap in the middle where the chicken sat in a pan.

( I'm going to re-try this method using a griddle over a medium heat, probably keeping the bird above the pan with a grill )

With a digital thermometer, I noticed that the thighs were racing ahead of the breast so I finished off in the oven. One the breast had hit 72c, I noted the the thighs were hitting 80 which was perfect.

Lastly - I let the chicken rest for a good 20 mins, but not before injecting the residual juices in the pan with a meat injector back into the breast.

Result ? Absolutely perfectly cooked. Thighs done to perfection and buttery juices running from the breast with a dark David Dickenson crispy skin.

Probably a bit too smokey for my taste. I only bought the £30 BBQ from Argos for the chicken experiments. I've going to try "on the hob" to start off with next weekend.

I admire your commitment.

 

[WATFORD zero]

1. Only ever get a good quality Bird and untie it
2. Do it on it's back and only turn it 30 mins before the end
3. When you've finished, rest uncovered

(wish someone had told me all this when I was younger )

And Robert's your Auntie's live in lover

 

[Notters]

Bit of salt on it and whack it in the oven. (I also like to put butter, garlic and herbs under the skin, but that is just for flavour).

I tend to do it at a high-ish temperature for 10-20 minutes at the start (200oC) and 160oC for the rest of the cooking time.

Don't listen to anyone who tells you anything more complicated, and never baste any roasting meats, it just dries them out.

Can't say I've ever had a dry chicken, I would suggest you're doing it too long or your oven is too hot.

The cooking times recommended on packaging tend to be overkill so get yourself a digital meat thermometer.

I cook most roast minutes in a similar way, with an initial high temperature to get some colour on the outside.

 

[dazzer6666]

Take the string off
Melted butter under the skin
Salt and pepper and olive oil on the skin
Halved lemon and some thyme up the arse (the chicken’s, not yours)
Put a load of roughly chopped veg (onion, carrot, celery, leek, whole garlic cloves), herbs, salt and pepper in the roasting pan with some stock (keeps the meat much more moist)
Quick blast on a high heat to crisp the skin
Remainder on lower heat until done (check with thermometer or check juices are clear)
Rest for at least 15 mins before carving - whilst doing that, use veg/stock base to make gravy

 

[Originunknown]

The chicken can simply be spatchcocked and done in a deep roasting tray for a more even cook. This means the breast isn't proud and directly in the heat from a fan oven.

 

[Audax]

Another thing you can do is to HANG THE CHICKEN in the oven with string. It's a bit like the beer can method.

And probably achieves exactly the same without wasting the beer...

As much as I love a beer can chicken, I've seen an experiment done testing the theory that the beer can method helps make the chicken stay moist because of the steam from the beer can going up into the chicken. Turns out very little, if any, of the beer ends up in the chicken, and the main benefit of the can is for standing the chicken up. Standing it up, amongst other things, leads to the benefit that all the skin can go crispy - not just the top of the chicken, but the underside as well. And we all know that crispy skin is the best bit of a roast chicken.

 

[Skuller]

The chicken can simply be spatchcocked and done in a deep roasting tray for a more even cook. This means the breast isn't proud and directly in the heat from a fan oven.

...is the right answer. I always take a serrated knife to a chicken, cutting a strip out (with horrible sounds of splitting bones) about an inch wide that includes the backbone (NOT the breastbone) the length of the bird. Then use a sharp knife to prise out the ribs you've exposed like John Hurt in The Alien, or hit the chicken with a rolling-pin to flatten it and make sure it's dead. Then simply put the deflated looking bird onto a roasting tin. That way, the breast isn't exposed to the searing heat and doesn't lose all its juice. It's quicker to roast this way as well: a small or medium chicken, as deflated as a Brighton supporter in April, takes about an hour and ten to cook at 150C. The bits you've chopped out can be used to boil-up with an onion, clove of garlic and a bay leaf for stock for the gravy.

 

[Superphil]

Basic 5% brine overnight.
Soften some butter and mix with tarragon and then using a spoon force it behind the skin all over the breasts.
Nice hot oven, 200 ish.
Use a meat thermometer and roast it till it reaches 72-74* degrees than take it out and rest for at least 30 minutes.
Even better, do it indirectly on the BBQ, impaled on a half full can of beer, nothing special, the beer doesn't flavour it, but it keeps the meat succulent. Chuck a chunk of oak on the coals and as before, up to 72-74 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh.

*the 72-74 degrees ensures that the inertial/residual heat will take it over the 75 degrees recommended temperature

 

[Cheshire Cat]

I'm obsessed with getting it right and it's been a lock down challenge. Today was the best so far. I've tried a number of things, marinade, brining etc.. But today worked sort of.

1) I "dry brine" the chicken overnight in the fridge. This involves carefully lifting the skin away from the breast and thighs (but keeping intact) and smearing the inside with a thick liquid chicken stock base. I use a famous American brand that is actually organic vegetarian. This appears to work much better than brining in liquid and adds much better flavour.

2) I also place generous amounts of unsalted butter with loads of raw grated garlic added under the skin and nudged down in the thighs.

3) Whatever herbs I have (usually rosemary and oregano) get whacked up the arse with a lemon.

4) Salt and pepper with a bit of olive oil are massaged over the whole chicken

5) The chicken is then "air dried" uncovered in the fridge overnight. This is important to dry out the skin.

You now get the problem of cooking evenly. I think that the chicken needs to be cooked from the bottom first (outside of the oven) to allow the legs and thighs to cook longer. So I cooked on the barbeque for an hour closed, but away from the coals. Basically the coals are placed at both ends with a gap in the middle where the chicken sat in a pan.

( I'm going to re-try this method using a griddle over a medium heat, probably keeping the bird above the pan with a grill )

With a digital thermometer, I noticed that the thighs were racing ahead of the breast so I finished off in the oven. One the breast had hit 72c, I noted the the thighs were hitting 80 which was perfect.

Lastly - I let the chicken rest for a good 20 mins, but not before injecting the residual juices in the pan with a meat injector back into the breast.

Result ? Absolutely perfectly cooked. Thighs done to perfection and buttery juices running from the breast with a dark David Dickenson crispy skin.

Probably a bit too smokey for my taste. I only bought the £30 BBQ from Argos for the chicken experiments. I've going to try "on the hob" to start off with next weekend.

You really take TWO days to cook one chicken?

 

[Questions]

Right the perfect roast chicken...... for this recipe of mine you will need a chicken and an oven

 

[Notters]

Right the perfect roast chicken...... for this recipe of mine you will need a chicken and an oven

Exactly this.

 

[herecomesaregular]

1. Only ever get a good quality Bird and untie it
2. Do it on it's back and only turn it 30 mins before the end
3. When you've finished, rest uncovered

(wish someone had told me all this when I was younger )

And Robert's your Auntie's live in lover

Just perusing this thread. Like the sound of this simple method but do you season the skin after turning? I love crispy chicken skin.

 

[Bry Nylon]

Whatever herbs I have (usually rosemary and oregano) get whacked up the arse with a lemon.

Are you sure about this bit?!


I'll be honest; the herbs are quite pleasant but the lemon really stings every time I sit down.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Just perusing this thread. Like the sound of this simple method but do you season the skin after turning? I love crispy chicken skin.

I personally don't but can't see any reason why not