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.

If you want your chicken to be truly roasted with crisp, golden-brown skin, it needs to spend time in the oven uncovered. If you find that some parts of the skin are browning more rapidly than others, you can loosely tent the browner parts with foil to allow the rest of the skin to catch up.

Simply insert your food thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken (for a whole chicken, that would be the breast). You know your chicken is cooked when the thermometer reads 180°F (82°C) for a whole chicken, or 165°F (74°C) for chicken cuts.

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.

If you are not roasting any vegetables with the chicken, it's a good idea to add about 1/2 cup of water to the pan to prevent the drippings from burning. Place the chicken on the rack breast side up, slide the pan into the oven, and roast it uncovered for about 60 to 70 minutes.

Weigh your chicken and calculate the cooking time according to the guide below. Sit the bird in a roasting tin slightly larger than the chicken, and don't cover it with foil or you won't achieve a crisp skin. Basting your chicken during cooking will help keep the meat moist.

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 generous amount of salt—after you've dried the chicken well with paper towels—will help the interior of the bird stay moist while crisping the skin and enhancing the flavor.

How to tell when chicken is done without a thermometer? ›

Poke the Meat

This method applies to chicken specifically. For properly cooked chicken, if you cut into it and the juices run clear, then the chicken is fully cooked. If the juices are red or have a pinkish color, your chicken may need to be cooked a bit longer.

Washing or rinsing chicken increases risk.

Salmonella, Campylobacter and other harmful bacteria live on raw chicken. Washing or rinsing doesn't remove this risk, it worsens it by helping the bacteria spread.

Things You Should Know

Cut any twine or wire holding the chicken together. Remove the giblets and kidneys from the cavity near the tail section of the bird. Trim the excess fat around the neck and tail with a knife.

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.