Old-fashioned roast chickens have been around forever, but there’s something about them that makes you feel warm inside.
How Do You Make An Old-fashioned Roast Chicken?
First of all, you need to understand how traditional roasting works with poultry.
The most important thing to remember is that birds don’t like dry heat, so they prefer slow cooking methods over high temperature ones.
Also, if you want your bird to come out juicy, it needs plenty of fat on its skin.
That means using buttery lard in this particular recipe as opposed to olive oil or vegetable shortening.
Ingredients for an old-fashioned roast chicken include:
- A whole free range fresh chicken (no fake stuff)
- Salt & pepper
- Butter
- Lemon juice
- Herbs – parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, etc
- Garlic powder
- Flour
- Water
- Breadcrumbs
- Vegetable shortening
- Paprika
The best way to cook this dish is by roasting it at low temperatures for several hours.
You can use any ovenproof pan that will fit into your oven.
A cast iron skillet would be great here because it has a nonstick surface that won’t cause food to stick to it while cooking.
Start off by preheating your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Then, rub some melted butter all over the outside of your chicken before sprinkling salt and pepper liberally onto its skin.
If you’ve got some herbs handy, sprinkle those too!
When everything is seasoned well, put your chicken in the center of the pan and close the lid loosely.
Bake on top rack until breast meat reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
As the chicken cooks, you should turn down the temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
This helps keep the internal temperature from getting too hot, which prevents the juices from escaping.
After two hours, remove the chicken from the oven and let cool completely.
Once it’s cooled, take a sharp knife and carefully cut through the skin along both sides of the backbone.
Now, open up the chicken and pull back on the drumsticks to release the bone.
Remove the bones and discard.
To clean the carcass, run cold water over it and then drain thoroughly.
You now have a nice crispy golden brown roasted chicken!
But what else can you serve alongside it?
There’s no better accompaniment than mashed potatoes and green beans, but you can also try these tasty side dishes instead:
- Roasted Brussels sprouts
- Cranberry sauce
- Green bean casserole
- Potatoes au gratin
- Broccoli and cheese
What Are The Ingredients For An Old-fashioned Roast Chicken?
The main ingredient in any old-fashioned roasted chicken recipe is a whole roasting bird with legs, wings, head, and neck intact.
You can use either a fresh or frozen (thawed) chicken.
The latter option will give your chicken more flavor and tenderness because they don’t dry out as quickly as when they’re thawed from being frozen.
You can also add herbs like rosemary or thyme to the mix if you want to spice up this dish.
But remember that salt is best left on the sidelines until after the chicken has finished cooking.
There’s no rule stating how much water you should put in your oven when making an old-fashioned roast chicken, so just follow the directions on your chicken package and let the oven be your guide.
How Long Does It Take To Roast An Old-fashioned Chicken?
Roasting an old-fashioned chicken can be done in less than one hour.
You might want to add some extra time if you like your skin crispy, as well as your meat juicy.
The bird should be at room temperature before placing it on the roasting pan.
If not, place it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
You will need four pieces of kitchen twine (about 10cm/4 inches) and two wooden spoons.
For this recipe, you will also need three cloves garlic, five bay leaves, a lemon cut into quarters, salt, pepper, thyme, parsley, and olive oil.
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F / gas mark 6. Remove any excess fat from the cavity of the chicken with a spoon and pat dry with paper towel.
- Place the chicken breast side down onto a clean work surface. Using a sharp knife, make 2 incisions along each leg joint. Do the same thing on both sides.
- Using the kitchen twine, tie up the legs so they stay together during cooking.
- Put the chicken into a large roasting tin (this will help ensure even cooking). Add the garlic, bay leaves, lemon wedges, salt, pepper, thyme, parsley, and olive oil.
- Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
- Remove the foil cover and continue baking for another 15 – 20 minutes until the juices run clear when pierced with a skewer.
- Serve immediately upon removing from the oven.
What Is The Best Way To Cook An Old-fashioned Roast Chicken?
Roasting is one of those things that feels like magic when you see your oven do its job and turn out perfectly cooked meat every time.
The key to roasting is to start with a fresh bird (or two), remove all the fat before cooking, cover tightly, and let it bake slowly at low heat until tender.
Once you know how to make an old-fashioned roast chicken, you can serve this classic on any day of the week.
It’s great as part of a Sunday roast, served alongside roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes, bread rolls, and gravy for dunking.
You could also try serving the leftovers cold in sandwiches, salads, or soups. Don’t forget to save some bones for stock!
If you want to impress someone, give them this classic recipe for an old-fashioned roast chicken.
What Is The Best Temperature To Cook An Oldfashioned Roast Chicken?
Roasting your own bird at home can be tricky.
You want it cooked through without drying out the meat, so what should you do?
Well, this depends on how big the bird is.
If you’ve got a small one, like a 4 pounder, you might just need to let it sit in the oven for longer.
But if you’re roasting a large bird such as a 10 pounder, then you’ll probably want to check its internal temperature after 3 hours 45 minutes of cooking time (the USDA recommends checking at 2 hours 15 minutes).
The chicken will be done when its juices run clear – and that takes into account the size of the bird too.
What Is The Best Way To Brown An Oldfashioned Roast Chicken?
Roast chicken is one of those dishes that everyone loves because it tastes so good.
But if you want to make your roast chicken even better, here are some great ways to do just that.
- To get started, place the chicken on top of a wire rack set in a roasting pan. Pour enough oil into the bottom of the pan (about 1/4 cup) to coat the bottom well and heat over medium high heat until hot.
- Next season the bird with salt and pepper using poultry seasoning, thyme, rosemary, sage, onion powder, garlic powder, and black pepper.
- When the oil starts smoking, carefully add the chicken skin side down and let it sizzle for 3 minutes without moving it. Now turn the meat side up by gently lifting the chicken from underneath.
- Cook the chicken for 15 more minutes at 350°F. If you like your chicken crispy, flip it over halfway through cooking time.
- After another 5 minutes, remove the chicken from the oven and cover loosely with tin foil while resting for 10 minutes.
- Once rested, use tongs to transfer the chicken to a cutting board and carve it into serving pieces.
What Is The Difference Between An Oldfashioned Roast Chicken And A Regular Roast Chicken?
The main difference is in how they are cooked.
The old fashioned method involves roasting the bird on top of the stove.
In this method, the bird is seasoned with herbs, spices, and other seasonings before being placed into a pan.
Once it has been roasted, the oven can be turned off, allowing the chicken to finish cooking without burning either side.
This ensures the chicken cooks evenly and keeps its juices intact.
For modern chefs, however, the most popular way to cook a roast chicken is by placing it skin-side down in the oven.
This allows the fat from the breast meat to drip onto the bottom rack of your oven as it bakes.
After 15 minutes, the chicken will turn over itself and continue baking until the desired doneness level is reached.
If you want more information on how to properly cook a roast chicken, check out our article here.
Roast Chicken Tips
- To prevent the skin from drying out during the long bake time, place a piece of aluminum foil under the chicken when you put it in the oven. Remove the foil once the first five minutes of cooking has passed.
- If you prefer crispy skin, remove the legs at least one hour before serving so that they dry up enough to easily pull away from the body of the chicken.
- Once the chicken is done, let it rest for ten minutes before carving. This gives the juices time to settle back into the meat, which prevents splatter when cutting into the bird.
How Do You Keep An Oldfashioned Roast Chicken Moist?
The secret to keeping the skin on your old fashioned roast chicken nice and soft and juicy is in the marinade – it keeps everything from drying out.
- First of all, you need to make sure that you are using fresh ingredients. If you use frozen meat, you will not get the same results as if you used fresh ones (it might be better). Also, don’t forget to remove the giblets before putting the bird into the pan, otherwise they will give off lots of moisture which could turn your chicken dry.
- Secondly, make sure that you put some oil in the bottom of the roasting tin so that when you add the chicken, it doesn’t stick.
- Finally, pour over half of the mixture onto the chicken and then cover it with foil. Leave it like this until the next step.
- Then take the rest of the marinade, mix it up well and pour it evenly over the top of the chicken. Cover again with foil and leave it like this for at least 30 minutes.
- When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 180˚C / 350˚F / Gas Mark 4.
- Remove the foil and place the chicken back in the oven and bake it for 12 hours. After one hour of cooking time, baste the chicken every 20 minutes and after three hours of cooking time, flip it over and cover it with foil again. Remove it from the oven and let it cool down completely.
- Once it has cooled down enough, cut open the chicken and check whether the juices run clear. If they still look pink, return it to the oven for 15 more minutes.
- You can also test the chicken by sticking a skewer through the thickest part of the thigh joint and see if it comes out cleanly. The best way to tell if your chicken is done is by inserting a knife into the thickest part of the breast – if the juice runs clear, it means it’s cooked to perfection!
What Can You Do With The Left
Roast chicken is one of those dishes that people love to overcomplicate.
There are endless variations on how to make it—you can use fresh herbs instead of dried ones, add lemon zest and juice to your marinade, stuff the bird full of vegetables, etc.
But if you want to stick to the basics without adding too many ingredients, here are some things you can do with the leftover bones from this dish.
- Make stock (or broth) – This will take everything else in the roasting pan along with all the crispy skin bits. It’ll be delicious enough to eat as its own meal, so don’t worry if you end up using more than you need.
- Add flavor to soups – Chicken soup is always good, especially when you throw in a few scraps of roasted meat.
- Use bones for making homemade bone broths – If you like the idea of having homemade chicken stock at home, try making it out of your own chicken carcass.
- Make homemade gravy – Pour off the fat from the roasting pan, then reduce by half, until it has reached a nice consistency. Add a little flour to thicken, season well, and serve immediately while hot.
- Make risotto – For a very traditional Italian version, cook the chicken pieces in olive oil before browning in butter. Then pour in white wine and let it simmer until reduced by half. Use this reduction liquid in place of water in any risotto recipe.
- Add flavor to sauces – Roasted chicken is great shredded into pasta sauce, or tossed through creamy cheese sauces like Alfredo.
- Add flavor to bread – Try topping slices of baguette or sourdough toast with sautéed onions and chopped cooked chicken.
- Reheat frozen chicken – Some supermarkets sell boneless, skinless chicken breasts already cut up into small chunks, which means they’re ready to reheat quickly after freezing. You might even find whole wings or legs in their packaging!
- Turn it into sausage – A big chunk of leftover chicken thighs goes really nicely in ground pork sausage, both in terms of texture and flavor. Just skip frying and go straight for the oven.
Equipment
- 1 Oven
Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic
- 5 bay leaves
- 1 lemon cut into quarters
- salt and pepper
- thyme
- parsley
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- 500 g Chicken
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F / gas mark 6. Remove any excess fat from the cavity of the chicken with a spoon and pat dry with paper towel.
- Place the chicken breast side down onto a clean work surface. Using a sharp knife, make 2 incisions along each leg joint. Do the same thing on both sides.
- Using the kitchen twine, tie up the legs so they stay together during cooking.
- Put the chicken into a large roasting tin (this will help ensure even cooking). Add the garlic, bay leaves, lemon wedges, salt, pepper, thyme, parsley, and olive oil.
- Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
- Remove the foil cover and continue baking for another 15 – 20 minutes until the juices run clear when pierced with a skewer.
- Serve immediately upon removing from the oven.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
My blog is all about creating delicious meals with ingredients that are easy to find in your local grocery store. I’m passionate about making yummy meals that I can share with my friends and family.