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–+ servings
A golden-brown, juicy roasted chicken seasoned with herbs, ready for the Ultimate Chicken Guide.

Ultimate Chicken Guide: Ingredients, Temps, Tips

This guide provides a comprehensive approach to cooking chicken, covering essential ingredients, precise temperatures, and helpful tips for achieving perfectly juicy results every time. It's designed for home cooks of all levels, emphasizing food safety and flavor.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Resting Time 15 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Course: Dinner
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Whole Chicken
  • 1.75 – 2 kg whole chicken patted dry
  • to taste salt and pepper
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1 lemon quartered
  • 3 sprigs rosemary
Butter Mixture
  • 100 g unsalted butter melted
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 tbsp sage finely chopped
  • 2 tsp rosemary finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp parsley finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp salt each
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper each
Under the Chicken
  • 1 cup dry white wine or low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 onion quartered
  • 1 bulb garlic halved horizontally

Equipment

  • Roasting pan
  • Oven
  • String

Method
 

  1. Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.
  2. Preheat your oven to 220C/450F (standard) or 200C/430F (fan/convection). Place the oven shelf in the middle position.
  3. Mix together the butter, minced garlic, sage, chopped rosemary, chopped parsley, salt, and pepper. Add the juice from 2 wedges of lemon.
  4. Place the chicken in a roasting pan. Use a dessert spoon to carefully loosen the skin from the chicken breast and drumsticks, avoiding the underside.
  5. Prop the chicken upright. Drizzle the butter mixture under the skin, using most of the garlic and herb mixture, but save a little butter for the skin.
  6. Drizzle or smear the remaining butter all over the surface of the chicken. Squeeze the juice from the remaining 2 lemon wedges over the chicken.
  7. Stuff the used lemon wedges and rosemary sprigs inside the chicken cavity.
  8. Tie the drumstick ends together with string and tuck the wing tips under the chicken.
  9. Sprinkle the entire chicken with salt and pepper.
  10. Place the onion and garlic halves in the roasting pan. Position the chicken on top of them. Pour the white wine or chicken broth around the chicken. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil.
  11. Transfer the pan to the preheated oven. Roast for 10 minutes. Then, reduce the oven temperature to 180C/350F for all oven types. Continue roasting for an additional 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 75C/165F, or until the juices run clear when pierced at the join between the drumstick and the body.
  12. Baste the chicken twice during the last hour of cooking (at the 30-minute mark and the 1-hour mark), spooning the pan juices over the skin.
  13. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes without covering it, to keep the skin crisp.
  14. Serve the chicken with the pan juices. Discard the onion, but you can use the roasted garlic. Consider using the chicken carcass to make homemade broth.

Notes

For side suggestions and instructions on how to use the chicken carcass for homemade broth, please refer to the full guide.

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