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

FAQs

What temperature does Jamie Oliver roast chicken at? ›

What temperature is best for roasting chicken? Preheat the oven to 240°C/475°F/gas 9, then as soon as you put your chicken in the oven, reduce the heat to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.

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.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

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.

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.

Sometimes, the word baked is used when the recipe calls for a lower temperature. In contrast, using the term roasted chicken typically indicates that it will be cooked at a high temperature and in an open pan or on a rack.

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.

Go low and slow for a very tender, falling-off-the-bone flesh and softer skin (say, 300 to 350 degrees for 1 ½ to 2 hours or so). Or roast it fast and furiously for less time for crisp, dark brown skin and firmer, chewier flesh (between 375 and 500 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours).

Should you flip a roast chicken? ›

Remove the vegetables and the pan juices to a plate before finishing cooking the chicken. This will keep the skin crisp in the pan. You'll want to flip the chicken over once it reaches 145-150 degrees Fahrenheit to give the breast meat enough time to caramelize under the broiler.

Prep and Season. Always let your bird come to room temperature, by leaving it outside of the fridge, covered, for an hour before cooking it. Why? Because your bird will cook unevenly otherwise.

"A lot of chefs will temper their meat," Wilschke says, explaining that it's just a matter of letting it come to room temperature over an extended period of time. While Robins recommends taking it out of the refrigerator 20 to 30 minutes before cooking, Wilschke advocates for longer, as long as a couple of hours.

Where should oven racks be placed for roasting a chicken or turkey? Chicken is best cooked on the middle rack. The bottom or lowest oven rack is best for roasting larger cuts of meat or whole turkeys. These thick cuts of meat can be cooked at higher temperatures at the bottom of the oven.

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.

Fattier dark meat can stand a higher temperature than lean white meat. While it's safe to eat dark meat cooked to 165°, you'll get a bouncier bite. Allowing thigh meat and the like to reach somewhere between 175° and 190° will give you more tender meat because the connective tissues have longer to break down.