Classics · Sunday

Whole
Roast Chicken

Whole Roast Chicken
Time
15'
+ 1h 25' chilling
Diff.
easy
Kcal
520
/ serving
Servings
4
Gather 9 ingredients before cooking
Scale
Units
01 You'll need check when you have it
02 To finish last minute: ~60 min window
Step 01 of 07

Dry the chicken

1700 g
2 łyżeczka

Take whole chicken (1700 g) out of the packaging. Pat it dry with paper towels on all sides, including the cavity. Rub all over with salt (salt (2 łyżeczka)) and leave on the counter for an hour.

Tip
Dry skin = crispy skin. Wet skin will never crisp up because water has to evaporate first. Meanwhile the salt penetrates and seasons the meat from within.
Step 02 of 07

Heat the oven

Set the oven to 200°C°C, top and bottom heat. No fan — it dries the meat out.

Step 03 of 07

Make herb butter

60 g
1 łyżeczka
1 łyżeczka
1 łyżeczka
4 szt

Peel garlic cloves (4 szt) and press into a bowl with the soft butter (butter (soft) (60 g)). Add black pepper, ground (1 łyżeczka), sweet paprika, ground (1 łyżeczka) and dried thyme (1 łyżeczka). Mash with a fork into a smooth paste.

Step 04 of 07

Rub the chicken

1700 g
60 g
1 szt

With your fingers, gently lift the skin from the breast of whole chicken (1700 g) — slide about half the butter (butter (soft) (60 g)) underneath and spread it with your palm from the outside. Rub the rest over the skin. Halve the lemon (1 szt) and stuff it into the cavity.

Tip
Butter under the skin melts during roasting and fries the skin from below — that's where the colour and crunch come from. The lemon inside steams and keeps the meat moist.
Step 05 of 07

Set in the roasting tin

1700 g
2 łyżka

Pour olive oil (2 łyżka) into the tin and spread it around. Place whole chicken (1700 g) breast-side up. Tie the legs together with kitchen string, or cross them and tuck the skin ends in — this way the thighs cook at the same rate as the breast.

Step 06 of 07

Roast

1700 g

Put whole chicken (1700 g) into the preheated oven at 200°C°C. Roast for 70 minutes, no basting. The skin is done when it's deep golden brown.

Tip
Rule of thumb: 40 minutes per kilo plus 20 minutes. To be sure, stick a knife between the thigh and body — the juices must run clear, with no pink streaks.
Step 07 of 07

Rest before carving

1700 g

Take whole chicken (1700 g) out of the oven and let it sit on a board for 15 minutes, loosely covered with foil.

Warning
If you cut it straight away the juices run out onto the board and the meat goes dry. In those 15 minutes the juices redistribute back into the fibres — it's the difference between a good and a great roast chicken.
Whole Roast Chicken
Bon appétit

How did it turn out?

Enjoy — now it's a matter of patience and a good table.

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