Perfect roast chicken recipe | Jamie Oliver Christmas recipes (2024)

FAQs

How long to roast chicken in Jamie Oliver? ›

Put the lemon inside the chicken's cavity, with the bunch of herbs. Place the tray in the oven, then turn the heat down immediately to 200°C/400°F/gas 6 and cook for 1 hour 20 minutes.

It's lovely served with steamed green broccoli and peas – delicious. You can make a quick one by skimming off the fat in the roasting tray, then placing the tray on the hob.

You can roast or bake anywhere between 325 and 450 degrees F. When roasting a whole chicken, a nice rule of them is to start at 400 to 425 degrees F and then turn the oven down to 350 after 15 minutes and cook until the internal temp of the chicken is 165 – 175 degrees F on an instant read thermometer.

Larger cuts, such as whole chickens or bone-in pieces, often benefit from covered baking to ensure thorough and even cooking. Smaller cuts, like chicken breasts or tenders, can be baked uncovered for quick results. Lastly, think about the desired texture and flavor you're trying to achieve.

The word bake is usually used when a dish is covered in sauce or cooked in a covered pot. Roasting is often more simple, usually involving a meat or vegetable being coated in oil or another fat, seasoned, and then cooked in an open pan or on a rack. But the word bake is commonly used for this type of preparation, too.

Covering dishes with aluminum foil

It protects your food from drying out or burning and helps keep in the heat and moisture, ensuring a perfectly cooked meal. Loosely covering your dish with foil can prevent uneven browning while baking.

You have two options for roasting your chicken: low and slow or hot and fast. To make the right decision, you first have to decide what type of chicken you're craving. For sticky, rotisserie-style skin with fall-apart meat, cook it at a low temperature for hours.

It's usually not necessary to add water to the pan for a roast chicken: the steam created by the water can prevent the skin from becoming browned and crisp.

A 15-minute sit at room temperature will make the chicken cook more evenly, helping you avoid a brown outside with a raw, undercooked inside.

Should you oil chicken skin before roasting? ›

“Put a little schmear of vegetable oil and because there is no water in it, the heat from the oven immediately begins to crisp up the skin and you don't end up with steam coming off the skin,” he says. Slow and steady when roasting.

After 30 minutes, remove the foil and baste the chicken with its juices and marinade. Reduce the heat to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4 and cook the chicken for another 30-40 minutes, until the juices of the chicken run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a skewer.

The benefits of the hot steaming lemon going into the chicken are very obvious as the meat tastes amazing, and the chicken cooks slightly quicker because of it. Rub the chicken inside and out with a generous amount of salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Estimated Times for Roasting Whole Chickens

1 1/2 to 2 pounds—400 F (200 C/Gas 6)—45 minutes to 1 hour. 2 to 2 1/2 pounds—400 F (200 C/Gas 6)—1 to 1 1/4 hours. 2 1/2 to 3 pounds—375 F (190 C/Gas 5)—1 1/4 to ` 3/4 hours.

Otherwise, follow this general formula: Cook large, boneless, skinless chicken breasts for 20 to 30 minutes in a 375-degree-F oven. Cook large, bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts for 35 to 40 minutes in a 375-degree-F oven.

The short answer here is: set your oven to 350 degrees F. Put your whole, unstuffed chicken in the oven, and it's going to take 20 to 25 minutes for every pound that chicken weighs.