18 Roast Chicken Recipes You'll Actually Want To Eat (2024)

FAQs

How many meals can I make from a roast chicken? ›

You have two options for roasting your chicken: low and slow or hot and fast. To make the right decision, you first have to decide what type of chicken you're craving. For sticky, rotisserie-style skin with fall-apart meat, cook it at a low temperature for hours.

A whole 3 to 4-pound chicken will feed 4 to 6 people, depending on ages and appetite. For Cornish game hens, which are very small chickens, count on one small (1.25 pounds) game hen per person or half of a larger (2-pound) game hen.

A four- to five-pound chicken is commonly referred to as a broiler-fryer and will easily serve four to six people. The chicken is done when it registers 165°F in the thickest part of the thigh.

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.

"It can take time, but eventually our bodies would become deficient in the vitamins and minerals not present in chicken." If you eat only chicken for long enough, you would become so depleted in vitamin C, for instance, that you could run the risk of developing scurvy, Meshulam says.

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

The recommended single portion of chicken is 3 to 4 ounces, about the size of a deck of playing cards. Some people use the palm of their hand as a guide.

How long should a whole chicken sit out before roasting? ›

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. Many recipes suggest you rinse your bird before roasting it, but for most store-bought chickens this step isn't necessary.

Always leave your chicken to rest for at least 15 mins before carving. This will give you a juicy chicken that is a lot easier to carve. For a more succulent chicken, take it out of the fridge one hour before cooking to bring it up to room temperature. This rule applies to any meat you are roasting.

Larger cuts, such as whole chickens or bone-in pieces, often benefit from covered baking to ensure thorough and even cooking. Smaller cuts, like chicken breasts or tenders, can be baked uncovered for quick results. Lastly, think about the desired texture and flavor you're trying to achieve.

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.

I am sharing how I take one Costco Rotisserie Chicken and turn it into 5 meals for my husband and me. That's FIVE MEALS, not five servings! Plus, I use my InstantPot to make a delicious chicken soup from the bones, so technically that's SIX meals! And no, they aren't chintzy, starvation diet-sized meals.

You will get 8 pieces of chicken from a whole one: 2 breasts, 2 wings, 2 thighs, and 2 drumsticks.

If you're purchasing a cooked chicken from the market, remember that chickens lose about 25 percent of their weight when cooked, so plan on a 2 1/2-pound cooked chicken for 3 cups picked meat.