With this guide, I guarantee you can cook perfect roast chicken! Juicy, full of flavour and melt in your mouth!
For so long, I thought cooking a roast chicken seemed silly because every local IGA sells a lovely roast chicken, pre-cooked, right from the deli! Why would you bother? But once I finally cooked my own, I am forever hooked! I will still definitely buy a roast chook from IGA as they are still great for a quick Sunday lunch in the park. But for a family Sunday night dinner, you have to try roasting your own!
Quick and Easy Dinner – Just throw in the oven and walk away!
It really is as simple as that.
The spice and flavour combinations are endless, I’ve used curry powder, rosemary and garlic. Sometimes I’ve stuffed the chicken with wedges of onion before cooking. Please experiment and find your favourite flavours and combinations! That’s what makes cooking fun!
How to Cook Perfect Roast Chicken
I usually buy a bird that is around the 2kg size, so this recipe and cook time is based off that. But just add or deduct cooking time depending on the size of your chicken. I will also mention below a little trick for knowing if your chicken is cooked, so keep reading!
I personally like to wash the chicken after I remove it from the bag. This is just a personal preference though.
Place the chicken in a baking dish and either drizzle with olive oil, or rub with coconut oil. I prefer olive oil as I think it creates a crispier skin (I didn’t have any on hand today so just used coconut). Both work great.
Season with salt, pepper, herbs and spices.
You could stop at just salt and pepper and you will really get to appreciate the lovely, natural flavours of the chicken, but I usually like adding a few extra spices. Here I am using paprika, turmeric and thyme.
Seasonings that are great for roast chicken.
Try some of these combinations or experiment with your own!
- Rub with garlic paste and sprinkle with rosemary
- Thyme and parsley
- Cayenne pepper, paprika and garlic
- Curry powder and paprika
Pop it in a preheated moderate to hot oven
My oven seems to cook hot, so when a recipe says “cook at 180oC” I usually have my oven at 160oC. For this recipe I have my oven set to 170oC. So maybe go a bit higher if you normally cook cakes and such at 180oC.
And forget about it for approx. 1 hr and 15 min.
The best way to know if it is cooked is to stick a meat skewer into the breast area and wait to see if the juices are bloody, or if they run clear. If they run clear, it’s ready!
So simple and so YUM!
While the chicken is still cooking, throw in some roast veggies while the oven is on and you have yourself a meal that is not only healthy, but easy and tasty too! And if you throw the veggies in the same pan as the chicken, there’s less washing up and they will cook in the delicious chicken juices. YUM!
How to Cook Perfect Roast Chicken
With this guide, I guarantee you can cook perfect roast chicken! Juicy, full of flavour and melt in your mouth!
Ingredients
- 2kg Raw thawed chicken
- Olive or Coconut oil
- Salt and Pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- Approx. 1 tsp each of paprika and turmeric
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to a moderate/hot temp. Approx. 170oC
2. Wash chicken and place in backing dish
3. Rub with oil, olive or coconut
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper
5. Sprinkle on your choice of seasonings or the ones listed above
6. Place in the oven uncovered and allow to cook for approx. 1 hour and 15 min
7. To check if cooked, stab with a meat skewer. If juices run clear it is cooked. If bloody, it needs a bit longer.
ENJOY!
When you try this recipe, please tag me on social media so I can see your lovely cooking!
Want more home cooking inspiration? Check out my other posts here!
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