How do I cook a chicken?

Question

I am going to cook a whole chicken in the oven. I need to know what temperature to set the oven to, how long to cook it per lb, and how to keep it from getting dry?

Answer 1

Marcella Hazan's Chicken With Two Lemons is wonderful - it's fast, easy and, if you follow the instructions, it's foolproof. The chicken doesn't need any fat added to it, but to make cleanup easy, I use a disposable pan or line my roasting pan with a disposable roasting pan. Read the directions carefully - this chicken starts out breast side DOWN - most chickens are breast side up. I also like to roast little red potatos and little carrots in the pan while I'm cooking the chicken. I usually don't bother closing the chicken - it comes out fine even if you don't tie the legs. Try this one, it's a winner:

http://www.recipelink.com/mf/31/12158

"A few years ago I came across a recipe posted by Marcella Hazan in Food and Wine describing a perfect roast chicken - no butter, no oil, no herbs, just two lemons. I was intrigued. I've roasted chicken with all combination of herbs, spices, oils, vinegars, and sauces and I was never satisfied with the results. That is, until I tried her method. It is simply wonderful.

During cooking, the chicken puffs up like a balloon, almost separating the skin from the flesh, making the outer skin very crisp, but very moist and juicy under the skin. It has something to do with placing lemons in the cavity.

I did add one additional ingredient to the original recipe - a few cloves of garlic along with lemons inside the cavity. I just never tasted a more crispy outside/juicy inside chicken. You gotta try this one. Do not add any fat, it is self-basting.

A 3 to 4 lb chicken
Salt and ground pepper
2 smallish, thin skinned lemons, washed well and dried
2 to 3 cloves garlic

Preheat oven to 350. Thoroughly wash the chicken. Let the bird stand on a slightly tilted plate for about 10 minutes so that all the water drains out. Dry all over.

Season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper; rub in the seasonings.

Set the lemons on a counter and roll them back and forth, pressing with your palm. Puncture each lemons in at least 20 places.

Place both lemons and garlic cloves in the cavity. Seal the opening with toothpicks; close well, but don't make an airtight job of it because the chicken may burst. Run kitchen string from one leg to the other and tie it at the knuckle ends; the string serves only to keep the thighs from spreading apart and splitting the skin.

Set the chicken breast down in a roasting pan. Place it in the upper third of the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Carefully turn the chicken over onto its back and cook for another 30 to 35 minutes.

Turn the oven up to 400 F and cook for additional 20 minutes. (Calculate between 20 and 25 minutes total cooking time per pound.)

Spoon the juices over the chicken and serve. A perfect roast chicken."

Answer 2

I'd set my oven at 400 F for the first 20 minutes then down to 350 or 375 F. Your oven may be somewhat different.

A rule of thumb for a thawed chicken with no stuffing in it is 20 minutes per pound. So, 4 pound chicken, 1 hour 20 minutes.

To keep it moist, put some water in the container you choose to cook it in. Enough water to cover the bottom of the pot about a half inch deep is enough. Also, you can put some diced carrots, celery and onion in the water to flavour any stock that runs off during cooking that you plan to make gravy from. Alternatively, peel an onion, quarter it and place it in the cavity between the legs. Some prefer to use a lemon instead of an onion as lemon juice is a natural meat tenderizer.

Before putting the chicken in the oven, take a sheet of tinfoil and form it around the breast of the chicken in the pot. After turning the temperature of the oven down as mentioned above, place the tinfoil on the chicken. It's much easier to do with the tinfoil already formed to the chicken, but it's still possible to get burned doing this... so BE CAREFUL!!!

Chicken should be 180 F inside and the juices should run clear when done. A meat thermometer in the thickest part of the breast tells the tale. Try to not touch any bone while reading the temperature as this can give a false reading.

ENJOY!!!

Answer 3

Sounds like it's your first time. Go to the store and buy some Reynolds Oven Bags for Turkey/Chicken. Rub some butter and salt and pepper on the outside of your raw chicken. Put it in a lightly floured oven bag and bake at 375 degrees until the internal temperature is 170. The juice that comes out of the chicken when you cut into it should be clear. Also, make sure you put it in a pan with side to hold in all the juice. The pan should be twice the size of the chicken.

Answer 4

I prefer raw. Heating meat destroys nutrients. And cooked bones are dangerous to dogs. If you feed cooked you'd have to only feed meat, no bones, and bones are good for dogs' teeth as well as a source of calcium. A healthy dog can eat raw meat without much concern for the bacteria in it. If a dog has a pre-existing health condition or is immune-comprimised, raw chicken could be dangerous and the dog might not be able to handle the bacteria, and could become sick. So if that is the case cooking is better. A diet of only chicken is not balanced, it lacks many nutrients, namely Zinc. So other meats and organs need to be added to create a balanced diet.

Answer 5

I am a chef and the best way to cook a whole chicken is high heat (425) for one hour. The skin will be very crispy and the meat moist. Just salt and pepper the chicken and put it into a very hot preheated over for one hour (unless it is a very large chicken) I tell you it is the best chicken ever. It may smoke up your kitchen a little if your oven is not clean but it is delicious. Good Luck. Let us know if you try it and more importantly if you enjoyed it!

Answer 6

cook it on about 180-200 degrees celcious for about 2-3 hours. if u dont want it to dry put a bowl of water in the bottom of the oven

Answer 7

Ask for a cookbook for Christmas. Or look it up online.

About 325F, maybe 25-35 minutes a pound (from memory, check online).

If the juices are running clear and if you grab a leg or wing and it about rips off - very loose - it's done.

Answer 8

go with 350, that's the standard. 12minutes per pound, let it rest for at least 30 minutes after it's out

season the outside and cavity with salt, freshly ground pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and a little oil.

make sure you take the gizzards out of the cavity prior to cooking!!!!

Answer 9

Butter it down and use a little seasoning and cook it slow at 275 covered with foil for 2 hours max. Broccoli would go very well for the side dish and stuffing too!

Answer 10

wash chicken - salt & pepper it - open can coke & set chicken over it in a pan - cook at 350 till golden brown ! very good & moist !