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How to Roast a Chicken


Hello and welcome to one of the scariest recipes that everyone *LOVES* to avoid but when you do it, you realise how silly that fear was. I’m talking about roasting a chicken. If you’ve never roasted a chicken before, this one’s for you. If you’re short on time, this one’s for you. And if you’re sick of buying roasted chickens from the supermarket because you know the ingredients aren’t great, this one is for you too.

 

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You know, that ‘thing’ that you put off doing for soon long? You stressed about it, lost sleep over it and gave it way too much airplay in your mind that it exhausted you.  Then you finally take the plunge to do it, emerging from the other side thinking ‘that wasn’t so bad, why the heck did I worry so much’.

This is roasting a chicken. And I’ve seen it over and over and over again with my clients.

A whole chicken, for some reason, feels serious and scary. But it isn’t. Really. And there’s a simple formula for cooking a whole chicken which makes the process as close to fool proof as you can get in the kitchen. Before I tell you the formula, let’s talk about why roasting a whole chicken is essential for a home cook to master.

 

why roasting a whole chicken is essential for every home cook to master

  1. It’s cheaper. Buying a whole chicken is so much cheaper than buying parts of a chicken. The per kilo price can be up to $10 more, when buying parts of a chicken alone. EG: 4 breast.
  2. It’s quicker. While you preheat your oven, get your chicken ready (5 – 10 minutes of time). Pop the chicken in your oven and that’s it. Set your timer and you have about an hour of free time.
  3. Perfect for meal prepping. This is hands off cooking and it’s out of the way too. So while your chicken is cooking, why not roast some veggies. Pop on some rice or quinoa and prep some fresh veggies or an epic salad dressing or dip. You could likely get all of this done in that 1 hour and your fridge will be filled with delicious food that you get to enjoy all week. I take you through this exact process in my free guide, Get Your Shit Together.
  4. You’re cooking in bulk. Unless you have a larger family it’s likely you’ll have a lot of leftovers, which means you won’t need to cook as much. Eat the leftovers for lunch or portion the meat out into snaplock bags and freeze for later.
  5. Make your own chicken broth or stock with the leftover bones. Buying chicken stock or broth can be expensive and while I always keep a jar of broth concentrate in my fridge for easy meal making, nothing. beats making your own.

 

How to Roast a Chicken

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Course: Dinner, Lunch, Meal Prep
Cuisine: Kitchen Staples
Keyword: Roast chicken
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Author: Lunch Lady Lou

Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken
  • 1 onion - red or brown chopped
  • 1 lemon chopped into quarters
  • 3 tbsp oil - ghee coconut or extra virgin olive oil or whatever you’ve got
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
  • Grab a baking dish. Add onions to tray, place your chicken on top (breast side up).
  • Place lemon in cavity.
  • Generously pour oil over the top of your chook and rub into skin. The key to crispy skin (if you’re into that) is oil and salt.
  • You can gently peel skin away from the meat and place oil in between. This permeates the skin with oil and flavour and helps to crisp up the skin.
  • Generously season skin with salt and pepper.
  • Roast your chicken. 45 mins per 1kg is the rule of thumb.
  • To check if your chicken is cooked.Cut into the joint near the leg on the inside. If the liquid runs clear, the chicken is cooked.
  • To serve, chop up the chicken. You can serve this with mash, pasta, quinoa, roasted veggies.

Notes

The key to crispy skin (if you’re into that) is oil and salt. And lots of it. Mix that with the heat of your oven over 1 hour (or more), you’ll be left with crispy-ness. If you’re not - more oil. OR, if you think your oven runs a lower temperature, turn it up slightly.
Tried this recipe?Mention @lunchladylou or tag #lunchladylou!

 


 

Have you grabbed my free beginners meal prep guide yet?

Introducing: Get Your Shit Together. A Meal Prep 101 guide to build your confidence in the kitchen to cook simple healthy recipes. Join me as I share my favourite 8 simple recipes to set you up for a big delicious week. Sign up right here.

 

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Hey, I’m Lou

Lover of crispy bacon, homemade popcorn and Mama to BJ.  I’m here to empower you to cook delicious and doable meals for the modern day – even when you’re busy.

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