Roasting a Chicken in Oven

Who doesn't love a roasted chicken? It is a perfect dish for parties, a small get together, or for Sunday lunches. If you are planning to make it at home, follow this recipe.

Before actually cooking a frozen chicken in oven, you need to thaw it in the refrigerator overnight. Chicken should never be thawed outside the refrigerator as it can lead to infection. Secondly, the oven should be preheated, and the chicken should be stuffed only a couple of minutes before roasting. This way, the stuffing will maintain its taste.

Ingredients

• 3lb 5oz of chicken
• 1 lemon
• A small bunch of fresh thyme stalks
• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• 2 fl oz of olive oil
• Sea salt to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method of Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 400 degree F
• Remove the giblets from the chicken cavity. Cut the lemon in half and place it inside the cavity.
• Now put a few leaves and stalks of thyme into the slit of the chicken.

• In a bowl, add olive oil, remaining thyme leaves and stalks, and crushed cloves of garlic. Mix it in a blender until it is homogeneous.
• Put the chicken on a roasting tray and spoon this flavored oil all over it, inside out. You can pour the remaining directly on the top.

• Sprinkle salt and freshly ground pepper over the chicken for seasoning.
• Cover the chicken with a foil loosely, and roast in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
• After the prescribed time, reduce the temperature of the oven to 320-350 degree F, remove the foil, and cook for another 30 minutes.

• The color of the chicken will turn golden brown when is it cooked. In order to check whether it is completely cooked or not, you can pierce the chicken in the thickest part (thigh) with a skewer. If the juices run clear, the chicken is cooked.
• Remove the chicken from the oven, cover in a foil, and let it to rest for 5-10 minutes.

• You can heat the pan juices again over the gas/burner.
• Take the chicken out of the foil and carve/cut it. Pour the pan juices on top of the chicken, and it is ready to serve.

Now, if you want to slow roast a chicken, so as to make it more tender and soft, then follow the same initial procedure of seasoning. Later, follow these steps.

• Preheat the oven initially to 400-450 degrees F and cook for 15-20 minutes. This will make the skin of the chicken crispy.

• Now, lower the temperature to 250 degrees F and cook the chicken for an hour.
• Lastly, increase the temperature again to 400-450 degrees F and cook for another 15-20 minutes.

With this recipe, you will know what your special main course will be in case you are planning the next house party. Good luck!