How to bake chicken in the oven: step-by-step recipes

Baked chicken is a versatile dish that is well suited for both an everyday dinner and a festive table. Fragrant chicken with a golden crispy crust and juicy meat is able to decorate any feast and delight the guests. There are many ways to cook chicken in the oven, from quick options to slow stewing. How to cook juicy chicken is in the Izvestia article.

Classic whole Chicken Recipe

To bake a whole chicken, you will need a minimum set of products.:

— One chicken carcass weighing 1.8–2 kg

— Salt to taste

— Spices to taste (thyme, rosemary, pepper)

— 4 cloves of garlic

— Vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon

— Butter, 20 g.

Additionally, you can take two sour apples for the filling, which will give the meat a special flavor.

6-8 hours before baking, you need to prepare a salt marinade from 2 liters of water, salt, chopped garlic and herbs. The chicken is placed in a marinade and refrigerated, and several toothpicks are inserted into the breast and thighs to evenly penetrate the spices into the carcass. This technique ensures that the chicken will not be fresh and dry. If time is short, you can simply rub the chicken with salt and spices and leave for an hour at room temperature.

Preparing the chicken for baking

It is important to use only fresh, chilled chicken — the frozen carcass will turn out to be tough and dry. The bird must be removed from the refrigerator an hour before baking so that it reaches room temperature. The carcass should be pre-singed and thoroughly rinsed.

Before baking, the chicken is generously greased with olive oil or vegetable oil on all sides, then liberally salted everywhere — salt will help to form a crispy crust. Inside the carcass, you can put lemon, cut into pieces, thyme, a couple of garlic cloves and half the butter for extra flavor. The baking dish is oiled, it should be free and leave a space on all sides of the chicken.

The French baking method

The French method of roasting chicken is considered one of the most reliable and gives an impeccable result. Preheat the oven to 180 ° C, place the chicken in a baking dish on its side, cover with foil and place in the oven for 20 minutes. Then the carcass is removed, turned over, covered with foil again and baked for another 15 minutes.

After that, the chicken is turned breast up, the foil is removed, smeared with melted butter and the remaining garlic cloves are spread around. In this form, the bird is baked without foil for another 30-40 minutes, depending on the size. The chicken is ready when, when the leg is pierced, transparent juice flows out without blood admixtures. After cooking, the chicken is transferred to a plate and allowed to "rest" for 15 minutes — so the heat is evenly distributed throughout the bird.

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The recipe with a crispy golden crust

A special technology is used to obtain the perfect crispy crust. Chicken stuffed with apples and grated with butter and pepper is put in the oven, preheated to 190 ° C, for 1.5 hours. Every 20-30 minutes, the bird is watered with a liquid that collects in a mold, which helps the meat stay juicy and not burn.

The secret to a proper crust lies in the final processing. The chicken is baked over low heat, without worrying about the crust, and 15-20 minutes before cooking, lubricate the surface with butter and increase the temperature to 240 ° C. You need to make sure that the overhead heating is working, turn on the fan and the grill mode, if any. After 15 minutes, a perfect ruddy crust forms, after which the chicken is immediately removed from the oven so that the crust does not get soaked by steam.

Slow stewing with vegetables

An alternative cooking method is prolonged languishing at a low temperature. The chicken is divided into portions and baked with vegetables in a thick-walled pan or cauldron. At the bottom of the container, greased with oil, spread a layer of fried onions and bell peppers (preferably red, as it will color the skin of the chicken in a pleasant color).

Chicken pieces are laid out on top of the vegetable "pillow" in one layer, salted, then again a layer of vegetables and meat. Add bay leaf, allspice and pour ordinary cold water. The cauldron is covered with a lid and cooked for 3 hours at a temperature of 150 ° C. During this time, the chicken meat becomes very tender and fragrant, and the broth is saturated with the taste of meat and can be used for other dishes.

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