Roast chicken remains a staple of family meals. But when it’s time to put it in the oven, one question always comes up: how long should you cook it so that it turns golden brown without becoming dry? A simple rule helps you find your way around, depending on the weight of the poultry. And two cooking methods can make a difference in the final result.
Cooking time for roast chicken: the rule of 25 minutes per 500 g
This “secret”, revealed by the website Papilles & Pupilles, is based on a simple rule: 25 minutes of cooking for 500 g of chicken, in an oven at 180-190°C. “Put in an oven preheated to 180°C / 190°C and for the cooking time, allow 25 minutes per 500 g. For 1 chicken of 1.5 kg that is 1 hour 15 minutes.”
For more even cooking, remove the poultry from the refrigerator about an hour before cooking. You can also baste the chicken regularly with its juice to prevent the flesh from drying out.
Finally, a grid placed in the dish allows the fat to drain, rather than leaving the poultry “bathing” in it. The skin will thus be thinner and crispier, while the flesh will remain tender.
Cold start: the other method to keep chicken moist
Another possibility: place the chicken directly in an oven set to 150°C, without preheating, then allow around one hour of cooking per kilo. The Papilles & Pupilles website then recommends finishing with a higher temperature: “For the last 10 minutes, turn the oven up to 200°C, this will crisp the skin.”
This gradual cooking allows the meat to remain particularly tender. Going to 200°C at the end of cooking then brings color and crispiness.
The hot oven method is quicker and more practical if you’re short on time. Starting in a cold oven requires more patience, but can result in particularly tender flesh.
How do you check that roast chicken is cooked well?
Whichever method you choose, it is better to check the doneness rather than relying solely on the indicated time. To do this, you must prick the joint of the thigh: the juice that flows out must be clear and not show a pink color.
However, the kitchen thermometer remains the most accurate way to know if your chicken is cooked. Concretely, the core temperature of the chicken must reach at least 74°C.
Remove from the oven, let the chicken rest for about 10 minutes, under loosely placed aluminum foil. The juices will then have time to better distribute throughout the meat, for a softer chicken when served.