Everyone loves roast chicken. No, seriously. I’ve never met a person who didn’t love roasted chicken and with good reason why. Roast chicken is budget friendly, easy to prepare and delivers big time in the flavor department. Chicken lends itself well to a wealth of different spice mixes and sauces, but roast chicken can also be basic without loosing pizzaz.
Be sure to let the bird sit out for about 30 minutes at room temperature after you season it with salt and pepper. This will give the salt time to draw out moisture from the skin of the chicken and give you that great, crispy chicken skin everyone loves! When I am feeling especially “on the ball”, I try to season the chicken a day beforehand and put it in the fridge for 24 hours or overnight. I’m usually forgetful or get busy, so this doesn’t happen that often but when it does, the skin is crispy like potatoes chips and the meat of the bird is incredibly juicy. Try seasoning the bird a day in advance if you fancy.
Serve this chicken with rice, mixed vegetables, side salad, bread rolls or potatoes. It goes with just about everything – and the best part is that the leftovers make great chicken salad, chicken tacos or chicken soup. This means you’ll get two (or even three) meals for the price of one.
- 1 whole chicken
- 4 tablespoons neutral oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Pre-heat your oven to 200C/390F.
- Line a roasting pan with foil. Set aside.
- Wash you chicken with water and pat dry with kitchen paper or paper towels.
- Season your chicken with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Don't be shy - season your chicken well (but don't over do it on the salt!).
- Let the bird sit out for about 30 minutes at room temperature. This will give the salt time to draw out moisture from the skin of the chicken and give you that great crispy chicken skin everyone loves!
- After 30 minutes have passed, coat the chicken with the oil and massage it into the chicken.
- Place the chicken on the roasting rack, then into the oven and cook for 60-75 minutes, or until the juices of the chicken run clear and not pink.
Sign up for my special subscribers list and get all of the above plus my FREE no-strings-attached eBook “The Ultimate Guide to Norwegian Food”!
[…] in the grocery store and I never seem to keep the breasts set aside long enough when I make roast chicken to use them in another recipe. So when I need shredded chicken for a recipe, I tend to make mine at […]