Quick! How to roast a chicken?

Cafe Society
#1

I need to roast a chicken for tea tonight, but I have class from 3pm to 5pm. Is there a way of cooking it so that I can put it on at 2.45pm and it will be ready at around 6pm? The chicken is of a medium size.

Thanks.

#2

All the instructions I know say to roast for a certain number of minutes per pound. Do you know how much the chicken weighs?

GT

#3

3 hours and 15 minutes is pretty long if it’s not a huge chicken. Can you get back any sooner after class?

You can cook it at a lower temperature. I’ve done that very sucessfully with thighs…cook at 275 or so for and hour and a half, two hours (a lot longer than you’d usually cook parts). But then that’s dark meat. I don’t know if it would dry out the breast. Perhaps if you tented it with tin foil.

#4

Personally I’d say not really. Take about 1 1/2. Can’t you distract them with a simple starter and a glass of vino?

#5

Only if you have a programmable stove. One where you can set the oven on a timer to come on when you want to it to. Then you could put the chicken in just before you leave and set the oven to start at around 4ish, depending on the size of the chicken. In my experience, a 4 lb. chicken takes around an hour and 45 minutes or so to roast.

#6

Roast it this morning and put it in the fridge. Cold chicken is yummy. Or stop by the deli or grocery store on the way home and pick up a rotisserie chicken.

#7

Thanks. I’ve decided to just cook it after I come back from class. They’ll have to wait a couple of hours for their food.

#8

I realise this is a little late, but I very often cook a roast for 3+ hours; my oven turns down as low as 110©, a chicken with a roughly chopped onion and apple (or lemon) stuffed inside the cavity will cook wonderfully moist and even left on about 120C for three or four hours - in a large tray covered with foil - the roast potatoes are much better this way too.

#9

Well, first you start with jokes about his drinking…

#10

If you want speed, butterfly your chicken so that it lies flat. Prep before leaving for class. Broil about 6" from the heat as you can get in your oven, turning frequently. You can cook the chicken in about 30 minutes this way.