Tender, succulent, perfect roast chicken
Not all roasted chickens are created equal. Surely you just pop the chook in a roasting dish and cook according to packet directions? Actually, I reckon that dries the chicken out, and this method gives far juicier results. No, the skin doesn’t end up crispy – but the meat is tender and succulent (even the breast meat). I know which I’d rather have!
Safety pointers
This recipe is based on a size 14-16 chicken. If you’re using a large size 20-24 chicken, cook it for an extra 10 minutes at each temperature. If in doubt, check the juices are running clear (not pink) from the innermost part of the breast or thigh. If you have a meat thermometer, internal temp needs to be 74c.
Defrosting a frozen chicken
It’s very important the chicken is fully defrosted before you cook it. Defrost a frozen chicken in the fridge overnight, in its packet on a plate – don’t use the microwave. The standard rule says that every ½ a kg (500g) of chicken takes about 5 hours to defrost in the fridge. Chicken that’s been defrosted in the fridge can be safely kept there for an additional one to two days before cooking.
Prep time – 15 minutes
Cooking time – 40 minutes
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
Olive oil, for drizzling
1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 size 14-16 chicken (preferably free-range)
50g butter, softened
Handful fresh herbs – rosemary stalks, thyme strands, sage
1 lemon, halved
Gravy (optional)
1 ½ cups chicken stock
2 tsp cornflour or 1 tbsp flour mixed with 3 tbsp water
Method
IMPORTANT: Take your (fully defrosted) chicken out of the fridge one hour before you cook it, so it’s not chilled when it goes into the oven.
Preheat the oven to 220c fan bake and set a rack in the lower half of the oven.
Arrange the onion and garlic in a small/medium metal roasting tray. Drizzle with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
Place the chicken on a clean board and pat the skin dry all over with paper towels. Tip it up and sprinkle a large pinch of salt into the cavity, then cram it full of the lemon and herbs (this helps flavour the chicken).
Carefully poke half the butter in between the breast meat and the skin (carefully so you don’t tear the skin). Rub the other half all over the legs. Transfer the chicken to the roasting dish, breast-side up, sitting on the onions and garlic. Drizzle all over with olive oil. Massage it in and season generously with salt and pepper.
Roast in the preheated oven for 30 minutes – it’ll be a nice dark golden brown colour (it might make angry spitting noises and smoke a little bit but that’s all part of it.) Baste it once with the cooking juices while it cooks.
Without taking the chicken out, reduce the oven temperature to 160c regular bake and cook for a further 15 minutes.
Remove the tray from the oven. Using a metal spatula, gently turn the chicken breast-side down in the tray. Place the whole tray on a wooden chopping board (so it doesn’t lose too much heat), cover tightly with a layer of foil and lay a teatowel over top. Let it sit like that for at least 30 minutes (up to an hour). Don’t skip this step – the chicken will finish cooking while it rests. When ready to serve, turn out breast-side up onto the board and carve.
Serve with my perfect crispy roasted potatoes (roast them while the chicken is resting), gravy (see below) and green beans and peas or a salad.
Gravy
To make a gravy, place the roasting tray, containing the veges and juices from the chicken, on the stovetop over a medium heat. Add the chicken stock and cornflour mixture.
Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until thickened into a gravy – about 5 minutes. Add more liquid or more cornflour mixture if need be, until it’s the right consistency. Make sure you scrape up all those lovely caramelised chicken bits off the bottom – these add colour and a real depth of flavour.
Add 1 tbsp butter, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Strain through a sieve and pour into a jug or gravy boat.
Storage/tips
- For exceptional added flavour, chop up the roasted chicken wings and add them in. You can also add 1 tsp powdered chicken stock for extra flavour.
Excellent recipe. We will definitely have this on repeat.
Hi Chelsea,
If cooking 2 chickens in the one roasting dish, does cooking time change and will there be enough gravy? Or how do you make the gravy go further? Thanks
Do you put the lemon in in two halves? Or just the juice if the lemon? Thanks
the whole lemon halves x
Hi Chelsea This is the moistest chicken I have ever cooked – thank you for the recipe. However it does make a mess of my oven & kitchen with the spitting & smoke. Is there any way to achieve the same result by covering with foil or putting it in an oven bag pls?
I am roasting 2 chickens and in an old oven with no fanbake. What changes do I need to make?
Hello Chelsea, I have a 1.9kh Chicken, what size is that? Just trying to work out my cooking times.
Thanks in advance
Are you putting a chicken in your bread? :D
Hi, 1.9kg is size 20.
Oh my goodness, late to the game in doing my roast this way but tried it tonight along with the crispy roast potatoes and the gravy and oh boy!!! New levels of deliciousness!!! Thank you Chelsea for taking my hum drum boring roast chicken to the next level!!
One of my favourite ways to cook a roast chook! Although I have never used such a high heat to begin with and added the wings to the gravy, what a difference! Thank you for the helpful hints!!! Amazing ????
Wow this is amazing! So moist and flavoursome and dead easy to follow the recipe. Love your recipes Chelsea – makes me feel like the MasterChef I am not!!
Hello Chelsea, could you tell me what the weight of a size 14-16 chicken should be?
I brought a whole chicken from my local butcher which of course didn’t come with a size! It weighed about 1.7kgs. I followed the instructions in your book Scrumptious to a T but unfortunately it wasn’t quite cooked properly (thigh meat was still red although breast was fine, we ate that). I was really disappointed but I want to get this recipe right. The chicken definitely wasn’t chilled when it went into the oven. Should I have increased each phase for 10 mins?
The gravy was absolutely delicious and my 3 year old boy loved it too, he was literally drinking it!!!
I want to try this but the chickens don’t have sizes on the bags anymore! Theyre sold by weight. Any idea what weight a size 14-16 chook would be?
What about two size 20 chickens? For Christmas lunch in 2.5 days.
Hi. Will this work as well if chicken is stuffed?
Made this tonight and it was the best roast chicken I have ever made. The caramelised chicken and onion bits were divine. The crispy roasted potatoes were damn good as well.
Made this last week and my family said it was the best roast chicken they ever had, followed it up with your pavlova recipe which was also a huge success and I used up the egg yolks by making lemon curd as a topping – yummy! Thanks so much
This is hands down the nicest roast chicken I have ever had or made! So ridiculously easy and such a crowd pleaser!
Hi Chelsea, I have a size 16 chock, 45 mins doesn’t seem long enough to cook it through??
As long as it’s not chilled when it goes in the oven it will be fine.
Thank you for this recipe, it was delicious! The breast meat is so moist and the flavour is devine. I absolutely love your recipes. My family loved dinner tonight. You rock! :)
This is honestly the best way to roast a chicken, it is so moist and yummy!!
Hi,
I have an old gas oven, so no fan bake. What temperatures should I use and how much would I increase the cooking time? Thanks!
Hi Sarah, just up the oven temps by 10c for each stage :)
Hey Chels, If I am using a small size 10 chook what would the timing be like at each phase? Cheers!!
Still the same cooking times will be fine, just shave 5 minutes off the first high heat :)