The aroma of a chicken roasting excites all our senses. Crisp golden skin with juicy, tender, succulent meat is what we all strive for when roasting a chicken.
Our simple steps below will ensure you don’t have to call the family for dinner more than once.
WATCH: Nigella Lawson shares her tips to cooking the perfect roast chicken
1. Remove the chicken from the fridge 20-30 minutes before cooking to allow it to come up to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 240°C fan forced. Grease a roasting pan. Scatter herbs like rosemary or thyme and roughly chopped hard vegetables like onions, carrots and garlic over the base (this acts as a rack, lifting the chicken off the base of the pan).
2. Remove excess fat and neck from chicken. Rinse the cavity under cold running water, avoiding the skin. Pat-dry with paper towel, this helps skin to crisp. Season the cavity with salt and pepper and insert a lemon cut into quarters and fresh herbs like thyme, or rosemary.
3. Tie legs together with kitchen string. Drizzle the chicken with oil and season well with sea salt and black pepper, then rub all over the bird.
4. Place, breast-side up, on top of the vegetables. Place into the oven, reduce the temperature to 200°C fan forced and roast a 1.2kg chicken for 30 minutes. Baste the chicken with pan juices and roast a further 30 minutes or until juices run clear when chicken thigh is pierced with a skewer. General guide is 25 minutes per 500g.
5. Stand, loosely covered with foil, for a minimum of 15 minutes, up to 30 minutes. Remove any string before cutting into pieces to serve.
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