Yes, Linda, let's -- let them eat rotisserie!

Could anything be better for a lazy Sunday dinner than roasted chicken.

Yummy!

Absolutely. And I call it the gift that keeps on giving...through the carcass in a pot of water with some additional veggies - chicken soup!

Well, for some it is easy! Not something I have mastered. Pointers would be appreciated, please. They look delicious, and thoughtful of you to do one for your friend.

Roast chicken? Take the bag out of the inside. sprinkle "something" on the chicken...salt and pepper...or garlic powder, or paprika or a fancy spice mix...or nothing at all.
Preheat oven to something between 325 and 450...put the bird into a pan that just fits it and put it into the oven....it's done when poked with a fork and the juices run clear....about 40 minutes at 450, and about 2 1/4 hours at 325.
How easy is that?

Is there a difference between lower and higher heat roasting?

Higher temps will result in a crispier skin. I heat my oven up to the higher temp before putting the chicken in, then immediately turn it down to 350 and roast for 1.5 hours for an average sized bird. I also stuff the cavity with a cut up lemon, onion and a few springs of fresh herbs (usually rosemary and thyme). And I always coat the outside with melted butter or olive oil before seasoning with S&P.

Ina Garten has the quintessential roast chicken recipe.....in fact, she is known for her roast chicken that she fixes weekly for Jeffrey.

I do the same as gardengal, but roast it in my cast iron skillet on top of carrots, celery, and onions. Discard the veggies and use the remaining drippings and juices for gravy. If there ary any giblets in the cavity, I put those in the bottom of the pan, too. Haven't been finding that bag in the cavity in recent years though. In turkeys, but not whole chickens.

Haha - I like Joan Crawford's line from Mildred Pierce (I think): "If you throw a chicken in a hot oven, what's to stop it from cooking?"

I like to spatchcock chicken for roasting (I just cut along 1 side of the backbone & flatten, not removing the backbone because I'm lazy) & coat both top & bottom w/ herbs or spices & lemon/lime juice. Curry powder is hubby's fave, but just about any spice blend works well, as does a blend of finely minced fresh herbs, smoked paprika & garlic(my fave) - & salt & pepper always. Just lemon/lime juice, salt & pepper is pretty good on its own too.

Roasting time is always the same: 400F for 50-55 minutes, or until the tendons start to pull away at the ends of the drumsticks.

Sometimes I add cut up potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squash & onions around the bird - & chunks of apple are delicious w/ that too.

I prefer spatchcocked birds, because you avoid the soggy underneath & have more crispy skin = )

I do it similarly to Carolb, Angelaid, and Gardengal. I do temove the spine, and acummulate them and the giblets in the freezer for stock, and if there's excess fat I remove and freeze it, too. With a small, tender young bird, you don't have to remove the breastbone to flatten it. Just pull open, turning the knees in to the center, and press down lightly. Tuck the wing tips under so they don't burn.

I make a bed of sliced onions and little carrots and whatever vegetables need using up. On the chicken itself, I brush on "suntan lotion" which is a sauce or dressing with a little oil and a little sugar, and some flavor. I add some seasoning like a pepper blend, and some herbs. Sometimes red pepper flakes as well. I usually use my combi-steam oven (360 F at 60% steam, 90 min., 3.74-4.25 lb. bird). Otherwise, i add about 2/3 cup of wine, beer, stock, juice or even water to the bottom of the pan. The vegetables will shed water adding to the steaming.

The skin comes out crisp and delicious, and the meat is moist and tender.

If you just throw it in the oven, however, and cook until done, as Linda said, you'll have a good roast chicken. :)

Thank you. With cooler temperatures I will be trying it again.

I agree with Joan Crawford....you put a chicken into the oven and it roasts....period!!

Now you can add lemon on the inside, take the time to cut out the back bone, even de bone the whole chicken and stuff it with something yuimmy, you can make herb butters to stuff under the skin. You can do it with a lid or without a lid, start it on the stove top and finish in the oven you can roast it breast up or breast down or flip it mdiway, you can perch it on top of a beer can perch it on a half full beer can or a 7 up can, you can cut it in bite sized pieces and you can soak in buttermilk for 2 hours before roasting or you can brine the bird wor 2 days in the refrigerator...

But you can also just stick that bird into the oven on a pan to catch the drips and cook it until it's not raw any longer....like the cave men did!!

What Linda C is saying. It's not at all hard and it will be delicious. The recipes, just make things difficult for inexperienced cooks, Spanish Onion? yikes what do I do? So many ingredients to buy?! Yikes! It's all too hard, I'll just get a rotisserie chicken.

Unwrap the chicken. Take out the inside the bird packages. Put the chicken in a pan not much bigger than itself but with sides an inch high or more. A glass baking pan is fine. If you have a rack, use it. Salt and pepper the bird. if you have seasonings such as Greek seasoning use that instead. Don't use both or it will be too salty. Don't use a seasoning that has sugar in it, it will burn.

Put the bird in the pan either side up. I like breast side down.

Preheat oven to 450. Roast in the center of the oven for 30 minutes. Take the pan out, stick a long utensil or wooden spoon inside and using paper towels flip it over to breast side up. Use a pastry brush to brush the brown drippings in the pan over the chicken and especially the white parts.

Back in the oven and roast for another 10 minutes or so. Use a thermometer in the deepest part, and it should read at least 160-165. If it's more, it's fine. Take it out.

If you want the skin a little crispier, run it under the broiler for a minute, although the skin should be crispy.

I take out that little bag of "stuff", wipe down the outside, salt and pepper the inside and put a head of garlic, halved inside, a lemon in quarters and a goodly amount of garden thyme, brush it with butter and salt and pepper the outside. Put it in a roasting pan (but any old pan WOULD do), put a sliced onion around and stick it in a preheated 425 oven. When I think of it, I brush it with more melted butter and leave it for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. I have some nice pan juices to do something with if I want and in the end that carcus will end up in the soup pot -- lots of meals out of that one chicken!

The size of the chicken does matter for roasting times, I always buy small chickens- under 5 lbs, as they are more tender- but I also always buy organic without that "solution", and don't think added fat is necessary. Lemons are nice, so are onions, garlic and potatoes and everything else in nice recipes,

but you can roast a wonderful chicken without anything but salt and pepper.

So I made all this pulled pork so I wouldn't really need to cook for the three-day weekend. Can anyone guess what's for dinner on Tuesday? :)

Chicken?? LOL!

Making a tasty roasted chicken is easy, chicken is basically
tasty cooked with just salt and pepper. However, making a perfectly roasted
chicken is a very different story.

It may require you to change all your thinking about
roasting and about the nature of chicken.

To make a perfectly roasted chicken does not require fancy
skills, it just requires different methods.

What is a perfectly roasted chicken? Simple; tender juicy
meat with CRACKLING crispy skin.

What’s the big deal, most recipes tells you that you will
have tender juicy meat with crispy skin.

I don’t think so. To begin with, crazy as it may sound, even
famous chef either lie or they can’t tell the difference between browned skin
and crispy skin. I have yet to find a recipe that actually gives you that
perfect roasted chicken.

Browned skin looks pretty, OTOH, crispy skin is what you get
when you order a Peking duck in a Chinese restaurant.

Tender juicy chicken meat is meat that is still slightly
pink. Chicken meat cooked above 145F begins to get dry and tough fast.

Without going into great details of my roasting chicken method,
I basically follow the concept as detailed in Chefsteps’ video with some
modifications of my own:

https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/ultimate-roast-chicken

I am not too unhappy with the
end results.

dcarch

Love chefsteps but I don't have either a fridge or an oven where I have enough room to hang..... bet it's good, though! Roasting a chicken, or anturkey for that matter isnt hard. As has been said... too many over-complicated recipes.

Martha...425 for 2.5-3 hrs.? Surely there's a typo?

I roast mine on a rack, breast side down. I may put an onion in the cavity, and I'll add in those yummy bits from the bag (although most roasters seem to have forgotten to include them tidbits... the liver, tho, I save up in the freezer for future pate. I usually sprinkle pepper and garlic powder over the top, i find chicken does not require salt. If in the mood, I'll use some specialty flavored balsamic sauce. Lime, raspberry or peach are real good.

I bake at 350 or 375 for an hour and a half, longer if a big bird.

I love buying pastured ones at the farmer's market.

pillog -- you caught me -- yes -- 1 1/2 to 2! Can't even blame it on auto correct! Wrong fingers on wrong keys! LOL! And I'm taking a bigger chicken -- 5 to 6 pounds. And the meat is so juicy!

I'm one of the "simple is better" people, LOL. I care little about crispy skin because I don't eat the skin (nope, not even at Kentucky Fried, can't stand the stuff). I plop one of our homegrown chickens in a pan, they'll weigh between 4.5 and 6.5 pounds. Go out to the herb garden and pull off a handful of whatever assortment looks good right then. Stuff those herbs into the chicken, sprinkle with kosher salt and a couple of grinds of pepper, put it into the oven uncovered for about an hour and a half until it's done. It'll be crispy and browned and I'll pull the skin off and throw it away. I used to give it to the dogs but I have one huge old dog and she'll get sick, which is a HUGE mess. Ahem.

A couple of days ago Elery and the two dogs ate half a chicken! Then we made chicken salad with leftovers. I'll also admit that I just don't understand the appeal of chicken salad. It's basically chicken and mayo or whatever dressing, some crunchy things in there. Put a slice of chicken on a slice of bread, add some mayo, lettuce, tomato, sweet pickles, whatever. It's about the same as chicken salad without chopping everything up!

Annie

I love roast chicken but have always considered it a chore to make. It must be just me because nowhere do I see it mentioned that anyone actually rinses out the bird. I line my spotlessly clean sink with paper towels to set the chicken on because it is never cleaned out enough for me. All that dark red stuff inside the cavity really bothers me so I always scrape and scrape with a grapefruit spoon! Even with all this, after I put it in the oven and open the door after it has been cooking a while, I'm put off by the sight of "blood" pouring out. Am I being too finicky?

Annie -- I understand what you mean about chicken salad -- I am a person who dislikes CHUNKED chicken salad -- it needs to be shredded. Texture thing. I guess too many tea rooms and too many sandwiches of chicken salad on spongy croissant where you take a bite and all of those little chunks go out the back end! I do like to make chicken salad but there are two kinds -- the sandwich kind and the entree kind. My sandwich kind for the most part are chicken thighs cooked, put through the food grinder along with an egg, add homemade pickle relish and enough mayo to bind together. And it HAS to be thighs! Spread on bread and you're good to go! The entree kind is the tea room chicken salad -- SHREDDED chicken breast, with something crunchy (usually celery), nuts (here we use pecans), and a dried fruit (either cranberry or raisins) and mayo to bind together so that it is forkable. It CAN go on bread as well but I prefer it that way. And I very much DISLIKE spongy croissants!

But I agree, a slice of chicken or turkey makes a great sandwich -- I think sometimes chicken salad is the last of that chicken before it meet soup pot -- where you take those little bits and pieces off the bone and add mayonnaise and whatever so you can have a sandwich of them for lunch -- perhaps with the soup that comes from long simmering of those bones.

So actually there are THREE types of chicken salad!

JoanEileen, in a word, yes. ;) Washing the bird is not necessary and not recommended. You're just spreading bacteria.

Stick it in the oven and don't check on it until it's almost done.

I make a tea room chicken salad that is not just mayo....
Lots of fresh lemon juice a spoonful of dijon mustard, a bit of curry...not so much that it shouts "curry" but just enough that someone will say "Hmm...there's curry in this"...and a dash of ground ginger.
Small chunks of chicken, celery, pineapple tidbits, either pecans or toasted almonds and craisins...or maybe sultanas. And if i am feeling flush, or only making a small batch, I will cut waaay down on the celery and add water chesnuts.

Like Artemis, I roast my bird breast side down. Then flip it back up, halfway through cooking.

Depending on what I'm in the mood for, I'll stuff the poor creature with lemon, head of garlic and herbs.

Other times, I simply brush it with an orange/honey glaze.

Or, do a pesto under the skin thing, or prepare it a la diable, or . . . well, you get the gist of it.

That said, there ain't nothing a plain roast chicken can't fix, except the table.

Sol

NYTImes had a big article recently on all the various ways to roast a chicken. I haven't roasted one in years (it's just me), but I think I'm going to do it again. The rotisserie chickens locally aren't as good as they once were, and I'm still remembering the fabulous roast chicken we had in London in April at Rotisserie But Street. OMG, that stuff is fabulous! We loved it so much (children adored it!) that we ate there two times in 6 nights.

Carol, that line by Joan Crawford is from The Women (1939), and she is referring to a lamp chop instead of a chicken: "Crystal Allen: If you throw a lambchop into a hot oven, what's gonna keep it from gettin' done?" This is one of my all time favorite movies but Kevin hates it because he doesn't like movies about divorce. I like pretty much all movies that have Rosalind Russell.

We always "roast" chicken in the BGE outdoors. Lately I've been spatchcocking it to make it cook a bit faster. Kevin likes cooking on the BGE, but I do all of the prep, which is most of the work. When I roast it whole, I use Algerian spices.

Let's face it, your roasted chickens are not going to taste as "good" as commercial/restaurant roasted chickens.

MSG! Salt!

dcarch

Nonsense, they taste better! Chickens do not all taste the same and seeking out good organic chickens make a huge difference in taste.

Lately I've been buying kosher chicken parts from TJ's, the flavor of my childhood chickens.

dcarch -- I disagree -- home roasted is far better than anything commercial!

Me too....but lots of people equate salty with "good". Somehow some have become accustomed to food that is "over fussed with"....when a good free range chicken just popped into the oven is wonderful! I frankly hate store bought rotissary chicken...too salty too much soy sauce and pretty well dried out!

Notice I put "good" in quotation marks. I was being a little cynical. Commercial roasted chickens taste strong because they all use MSG and lots of salt, kind of one dimensional strong taste.

dcarch

Yummm the pure taste of a slice of the juicy breast from an oven roasted organic chicken. One of foods delights.

Cute about the film quote being about lamb chops as it seems so appropriate for chicken as well.

I don't think I have ever bought a rotissary chicken. Husband might stop and pick up Albertson's fried chicken if I don't feel like cooking.

JoanEileen, do not wash the chicken because as has been pointed out, you are merely spreading bacteria. I also suspect that adding all that water is what causes "all the blood [to pour] out", because that never happens for me. I'd also suggest you not open the oven door for at least an hour and a quarter so as not to see anything that might distress you (not that there will be anything, but really the chicken doesn't need to be peeked at during the cooking phase and all you're doing is lowering the oven temperature opening the door unnecessarily.)

Anthony Bourdain did a series once on the dishes he considered every cook should know how to do, and got guest chefs who were known for that particular dish to demonstrate. Roast chicken was one, and iirc it was demonstrated by Thomas What'sHisFace from the French Laundry.

Here there is no place to buy a rotisserie chicken -- fried yes, but rotisserie no.

Martha, here I can get them at either Walmart or Meijer, but as has been mentioned, they just taste like salt. Plus they have an odd, spongy texture I dislike. I know, I'm picky...

Annie

I have never bought one either....but have been invited to "stop for lunch" by people who have bought them. They do smell wonderful but after eating a sandwich one time I couldn't make a fist my hands were so salt swollen....well that's a slight exaggeration, but still terribly salty!

My issue isn't with fast food of one variety over another (bulk rotisserie chicken or Big Mac, it's just salted salt or no salt), but with fine restaurants. They often serve one form or other of plain roasted chicken from the same grower I usually buy. This is a good option for many people in terms of what to choose to eat, but I've never met one that was better than my no brainer roast chicken which I make most weeks, but without the crisp skin, and often just not as good because they're actively trying to make it bland for picky eaters. And because they're offering that, it's usually the only chicken choice. ;( All the interesting sauces and preparations go to the fish, which I'm allergic to. :(

I used to stay with friends in Mexico City (Col. Condesa) who lived across the street from a large bakery/delicatessen (Panificadora Condesa) that had rotisserie chickens being cooked constantly, and you could buy a chicken through the window without even going into the deli. They were so convenient that we did buy them fairly frequently. They were not that salty, but they were also somewhat bland. The bakery, however, was excellent, and I would go there twice a day - once for breakfast and then once for evening dinner bolillos.

I've never bought a rotisserie chicken in this country. Maybe if I lived across the street from a deli I would.

Lars, your chicken with Algerian spices is so good that I can't even imagine you buying a rotisserie chicken. And this thread reminds me that I have to make it again, I've got to dig around in the cabinet for the sumac powder.....

Annie