Favorite way to cook a whole chicken?

BecomingMoreAwesome

What’s your favorite way to cook a whole chicken? I was planning on my usual-roasting it tomorrow using America’s Test Kitchen’s Weeknight Roast Chicken recipe, probably with roasted carrots and potatoes, but suddenly I’m bored of that and want to try something different.

My family will only eat about half of it tomorrow unless one of my children starts having a growth spurt. I usually save the leftovers for a lazy version of chicken and dumplings, so flavoring that will work for that is best.

L1zardQueen

Spatchcock^^^^

Dry rub with salt and pepper left in refrigerator 24 hours to dry out. Roasted in the oven or on the Grill.

madwells1

Spatchcock it (i.e., split it open), marinate in jerk marinade over night (see below for my favorite ever), roast or grill. Serve with napkins and fried plantains!!


https://africanbites.com/jerk-marinade/

BecomingMoreAwesome

Here’s my confession: the one time I tried making brick chicken (spatchcocked and then weighed down and high roasted on the grill) I set it on fire.

But who can resist a unanimous vote?

Edit because I was trying to get everyone ready for school and post and managed to switch unanimous and anonymous. Clearly I need more sleep.

DX2JX2

I love a good roasted chicken too much to really need a substitute. I love simply roasted with roasted potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts or green beans. Gravy if I feel like making it, otherwise plain is fine.

Also tasty is marinating a cut up whole chicken in a blend of garlic, oregano, olive oil, S&P, sugar, and lemon juice and grilling or roasting bone in and skin on. Serve with tzatziki on the side (yogurt, garlic, dill, lemon, S&P) and some spinach rice, side salad, or green salad.

BattyKnitter

DX2JX2 wrote: »

I love a good roasted chicken too much to really need a substitute. I love simply roasted with roasted potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts or green beans. Gravy if I feel like making it, otherwise plain is fine.

Also tasty is marinating a cut up whole chicken in a blend of garlic, oregano, olive oil, S&P, sugar, and lemon juice and grilling or roasting bone in and skin on. Serve with tzatziki on the side (yogurt, garlic, dill, lemon, S&P) and some spinach rice, side salad, or green salad.

That sounds so lovely! I think I'll be making this on Saturday with asparagus, yumm!

madwells1

BecomingMoreAwesome wrote: »

Here’s my confession: the one time I tried making brick chicken (spatchcocked and then weighed down and high roasted on the grill) I set it on fire.

I laughed out loud at this.

whhuynh90

when i ate meat I would make a small brine of a ratio of 1 liter of water to 3 table spoons of salt. mix and let the raw breast soak for 1/2 hour to 1 hour. then take out, add pepper and whatever other spices and cook in the oven with veggies. it makes the meat so juicy/ not dry! i still do it for my fam and they love it!

AndOne8675

crazyravr wrote: »

Spatchcock and roast with a store bought jar of Tikka Masala paste. Rub the paste all over the chicken, place on a baking rack and done. Put a tray with veggies to roast on the second shelf under the chicken so that the veggies catch the drippings and pick up flavour. Easy quick and delish.

Awesome. Never thought to use Tikka Masala when roasting the chicken.

Dame_sans_merci

Saw this on a UK cooking show. They added the marinade to keep the chicken moist when cooking as they removed the skin from the chicken to save calories/fat (although I don’t think it mentions the removal of the skin in the method)
This is great on smaller portions of chicken like drumstick or skinless thighs as well. Great to just make a big batch and store in sealed tub in fridge and just grab when needed.....drooling now
http://www.hairybikers.com/recipes/view/masala-roasted-chicken#xqEkoFBgsbxO2zOD.97

AnnieH_4512

Try roasting it in a bundt pan!

goatg

Spatchcock or beer can.

BecomingMoreAwesome

Thanks for all the suggestions-in the end I went with my boring usual because I have to pick up a kid at 5 and eat at 6. The America’s Test Kitchen weeknight chicken finishes in the oven after you turn it off, so I can start it and then turn off the oven.

acpgee

Spatchcock takes me about 35 minutes and there is the advantage that the legs and breasts are done at the same time. Spatchcocking takes advantage of the fact that the centre oven (where the breasts are) is cooler than the perimeter (where the legs are).

LivingtheLeanDream

crazyravr wrote: »

Spatchcock and roast with a store bought jar of Tikka Masala paste. Rub the paste all over the chicken, place on a baking rack and done. Put a tray with veggies to roast on the second shelf under the chicken so that the veggies catch the drippings and pick up flavour. Easy quick and delish.

This!! I was going to post the Jamie Oliver link to this! Its fab and on my menu this week

Maxxitt

Buy the best-quality whole chicken you can. Take out the neck/gizzards and put in a small pot with 12 oz or so of water, a bay leaf, a chopped onion, and some tarragon or thyme (1/2 tsp or so) and simmer it while your chicken cooks. You can use this for gravy, or to make a chicken pot pie with left-overs if you want.

Put a 9 or 10 in cast iron skillet in the oven and preheat to 500.

Pat your chicken dry. Put a quartered onion or two inside the cavity along with some herbs - fresh sage, rosemary and tarragon are wonderful but dried versions also work.

Spritz the outside with your olive oil mister, salt and pepper the surface, sprinkle on some dried thyme and tarragon.

Put the bird in the pre-heated cast iron skillet and return it to the oven. (Be glad you have been in the gym because that sucker is heavy!) After 15 min turn the heat down to 375. Total roasting time will be 60-90 minutes depending on the size of your chicken. No need to baste, although I sometimes turn the pan 45 minutes in. I use an instant read thermometer to make sure it's done. If you spatchcock the chicken it will take 15-20 minutes less time. (Edited so that it didn't say "spatch-*kitten*" lol)

If you save the pan drippings, they make that left-over chicken pot pie extra tasty.

BecomingMoreAwesome

acpgee wrote: »

Spatchcock takes me about 35 minutes and there is the advantage that the legs and breasts are done at the same time. Spatchcocking takes advantage of the fact that the centre oven (where the breasts are) is cooler than the perimeter (where the legs are).

How long do you let it rest? I’ll definitely try this next time.

My kids have an inconvenient age gap where one is in middle school and needs to be picked up 20 minutes away at 5, and the other is in kindergarten and needs to start bedtime at 6:30. (For the next 5 weeks, and then this sport season is over.) So I need to turn off the oven at 4:40 or not start cooking until 5:20 and get dinner on the table as close to 6 as possible. I’m holding on to dinner as a family as long as I can.

Oh, and for once they Pooh-poohed my chicken & dumplings from leftovers, but that’s because I offered chicken soup with cream biscuits instead.

BecomingMoreAwesome

Maxxitt wrote: »

Buy the best-quality whole chicken you can. Take out the neck/gizzards and put in a small pot with 12 oz or so of water, a bay leaf, a chopped onion, and some tarragon or thyme (1/2 tsp or so) and simmer it while your chicken cooks. You can use this for gravy, or to make a chicken pot pie with left-overs if you want.

Put a 9 or 10 in cast iron skillet in the oven and preheat to 500.

Pat your chicken dry. Put a quartered onion or two inside the cavity along with some herbs - fresh sage, rosemary and tarragon are wonderful but dried versions also work.

Spritz the outside with your olive oil mister, salt and pepper the surface, sprinkle on some dried thyme and tarragon.

Put the bird in the pre-heated cast iron skillet and return it to the oven. (Be glad you have been in the gym because that sucker is heavy!) After 15 min turn the heat down to 375. Total roasting time will be 60-90 minutes depending on the size of your chicken. No need to baste, although I sometimes turn the pan 45 minutes in. I use an instant read thermometer to make sure it's done. If you spatchcock the chicken it will take 15-20 minutes less time. (Edited so that it didn't say "spatch-*kitten*" lol)

If you save the pan drippings, they make that left-over chicken pot pie extra tasty.

This is similar to the recipe I use, except it goes 450 for 30-35 minutes to crisp the skin, and then turn the oven off for an additional 30 minutes to finish cooking. Starting at 500 must make amazing skin (and a very smoky kitchen).

Sarahbethany89

Rotisserie Chicken from Bjs Wholesale club. Gluten free and I cant undercook it! lol

WilmaValley

What great ideas!

Maxxitt

BecomingMoreAwesome wrote: »

Maxxitt wrote: »

Buy the best-quality whole chicken you can. Take out the neck/gizzards and put in a small pot with 12 oz or so of water, a bay leaf, a chopped onion, and some tarragon or thyme (1/2 tsp or so) and simmer it while your chicken cooks. You can use this for gravy, or to make a chicken pot pie with left-overs if you want.

Put a 9 or 10 in cast iron skillet in the oven and preheat to 500.

Pat your chicken dry. Put a quartered onion or two inside the cavity along with some herbs - fresh sage, rosemary and tarragon are wonderful but dried versions also work.

Spritz the outside with your olive oil mister, salt and pepper the surface, sprinkle on some dried thyme and tarragon.

Put the bird in the pre-heated cast iron skillet and return it to the oven. (Be glad you have been in the gym because that sucker is heavy!) After 15 min turn the heat down to 375. Total roasting time will be 60-90 minutes depending on the size of your chicken. No need to baste, although I sometimes turn the pan 45 minutes in. I use an instant read thermometer to make sure it's done. If you spatchcock the chicken it will take 15-20 minutes less time. (Edited so that it didn't say "spatch-*kitten*" lol)

If you save the pan drippings, they make that left-over chicken pot pie extra tasty.

This is similar to the recipe I use, except it goes 450 for 30-35 minutes to crisp the skin, and then turn the oven off for an additional 30 minutes to finish cooking. Starting at 500 must make amazing skin (and a very smoky kitchen).

Actually I don't get much smoke - although I do run the self-clean every couple of months so that helps. And the skin is amazing, even though I don't eat it usually - it does seal in juices really well so the finished product is tender and delicious. Also, responding to the "rest time" if the timing of my day means the chicken comes out "early," I seal it up on a plate with foil and it will happily rest for an hour, and still be hot enough to eat without re-heating.

marissafit06

Chicken soup or roasted in a Dutch oven.

RAinWA

My favorite is to stuff the chicken with 1/2 an onion and about 30 cloves of garlic and then roast. Absolute heaven and you can use the garlic for spreading on french bread.

mtrschiff916

My favorite way to cook a whole chicken is to rub it, all over with McCormick's Rotisserie chicken seasoning and put it in the Crockpot for 4 to 6 hours. It falls off the bone and is tender and delish.

acpgee

BecomingMoreAwesome wrote: »

acpgee wrote: »

Spatchcock takes me about 35 minutes and there is the advantage that the legs and breasts are done at the same time. Spatchcocking takes advantage of the fact that the centre oven (where the breasts are) is cooler than the perimeter (where the legs are).

How long do you let it rest? I’ll definitely try this next time.

My kids have an inconvenient age gap where one is in middle school and needs to be picked up 20 minutes away at 5, and the other is in kindergarten and needs to start bedtime at 6:30. (For the next 5 weeks, and then this sport season is over.) So I need to turn off the oven at 4:40 or not start cooking until 5:20 and get dinner on the table as close to 6 as possible. I’m holding on to dinner as a family as long as I can.

Oh, and for once they Pooh-poohed my chicken & dumplings from leftovers, but that’s because I offered chicken soup with cream biscuits instead.

I normally rest for about 10 minutes after cooking. Gives enough time to make gravy from the pan drippings if you so desire. Timing of cooking will depend on size of chicken so if you want to be sure get an instant read thermometer. They are not expensive. Chicken is safe at 74 Celsius or 165 Farenheit.

drylandcrop__

Spatchcocked and roasted with a touch of smoke (applewood or something sweet) on my Kamado Joe. Oh, and a bit of run on the skin. Delicious!