I have always subscribed to the view that to cook a perfect roast chicken you need to cook it at as low a temperature as possible while also finding a way to brown it. Starting it off at a high heat and then lowering the dial is the standard method. I like the leg meat to be well done and tender, but of course I don’t want the breast meat to dry and toughen.
I bought a small Cotswolds chicken (1.4kg). I put it in the top of the oven at gas mark 6, 200C. Forty-five minutes later, I transferred it to the bottom shelf, replacing it with a roasting pan of potatoes. I took the chicken out of the oven 40 minutes later.
It was perfect. The legs were very tender, and the breast – I had massaged butter in between the skin and the meat – was still moist.
Sometimes, or rather quite often now I think about it, food does not behave how science says it should. I do recommend Cotswold chickens.
Roast chicken, with its stock
Heston's roast chicken
3 comments:
Hey, thanks for these very useful tips! Cooking can be really tricky; what may seem to be a random combination of ingredients and actions, may very well be a special way to prepare a dish. And a lot of it is instinct and intelligent guesses, especially if you're trying out new recipes. At least you would be assured of a nice dish, when the meat itself is of high quality from the start.
Mae Tyler @ St. Andrew Poultry
Unique way of cooking by observing a decrease in temperature, with a smear of butter perfect taste more delicious chicken.
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