Citrus Glazed Roast Chicken Recipe - Mom On Timeout (2024)

FAQs

How long should a chicken rest before roasting? ›

If you can, leave at least one hour for the seasoned chicken to rest in the refrigerator, uncovered, before it's time to cook. Longer is even better, up to 24 hours.

Above all, however, a roast chicken needs to be juicy. There are many ways to achieve this, but one of the best is to flip over your poultry. While it is more common to turn over a duck during roasting to render the fat out of the breast meat, flipping a chicken does something a little different.

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 can also make the meat juicier but with a less crispy skin. Resting your meat uncovered in a relatively warm room will provide up to an hour before it needs to be carved whilst preserving the crispy skin. Always wait at least 30 minutes before carving to allow the temperature to finish rising and begin its decline.

Place the chicken breast-side up in a roasting pan, cast iron skillet, frying pan, baking dish, pie plate, or any other shallow ovenproof dish. You can roast the chicken by itself in a pan, or lift it off the pan using a roasting rack or coarsely chopped vegetables (see Recipe Note).

Dark meat, such as chicken thighs or legs, will take longer to cook, because they have a higher fat content and density.

A whole 3 to 4-pound chicken will feed 4 to 6 people, depending on ages and appetite.

An average-size chicken weighs about 1.5kg and will feed 4 people. If you're cooking for 5 or 6, go for a 1.8kg-2kg bird. Do buy the best you can – preferably free-range and organic. Slow-grown birds have more flavour, and produce a much better cooked result, without taking welfare issues into account.

Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for 30 minutes, leaving the probe in the breast.

How long should a whole chicken rest after baking? ›

The juices need time to redistribute throughout the bird, or else they'll wind up on your cutting board. Once you take the chicken out of the oven, remove it from the pan and let it hang out for 15 minutes. By that time, it will also be cool enough to carve.

To shred a chicken that's just been cooked, you should, first let it rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes or so. That brief break will help juices inside the meat to become evenly distributed.