Spitted Roast Chicken Recipes

PERFECT ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
• Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

MASALA-SPICED ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Place chicken upright on a rack in a roasting pan. Cut 10 slits in the skin using a sharp knife, pull the skin away from the meat; slip a garlic clove into each slit. Rub the masala powder over the whole chicken. Squeeze the juice of the lime over the chicken, turn the chicken breast side down in the roasting pan, and place the rind in the chicken cavity.
• Roast the chicken in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Lower the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 45 more minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh should read 180 degrees F (82 degrees C). Remove the chicken from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area for 10 minutes before slicing.

SPICY RAPID ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Rinse chicken thoroughly inside and out under cold running water and remove all fat. Pat dry with paper towels.
• Put chicken into a small baking pan. Rub with olive oil. Mix the salt, pepper, oregano, basil, paprika and cayenne pepper together and sprinkle over chicken.
• Roast the chicken in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Lower the oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and continue roasting to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), about 40 minutes more. Let cool 10 to 15 minutes and serve.

SPIT-ROASTED CHICKENS

Steps:

• Heat a grill until the coals are ninety percent white and no flame remains.
• Wash chickens inside and out under cold running water; pat dry with paper towels. Trim and discard excess fat. Rub with olive oil, and season inside and out with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together, and thread the chickens onto the spit through the cavities.
• Place spit above coals, and begin rotating. Grill chickens until legs move loosely at joints and juices run clear when pierced with a fork, 50 to 60 minutes. During the final 15 minutes, baste with barbecue sauce. Remove from grill. Let stand 15 minutes, and carve.

SPITTED ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Put a good square of butter and a little salt and pepper in the cavity of each chicken. Truss well and brush them with melted butter or oil seasoned to taste with salt, pepper and paprika. Spit them carefully. Run the spit through the backbone just above the tail and guide it to the top part of the breast at the base of the neck. This way you achieve a good balance.
• When your fire has burned down to a good bed of coals, make a ring of the briquets or charcoal leaving the center area directly under the chickens clear to catch the drippings. Arrange the spitted chickens over this space and roast, basting them frequently with equal parts of melted butter and white wine or dry vermouth. The cooking time will take from 45 minutes to 1 1/4 hours, depending on the size of the birds.
• Plain roast chicken goes best with crisp sautéed potatoes and a fresh green salad with a minimum of dressing. As for wine, most people prefer a white, such as a Pinot Blanc from California, or a Meursault or Pouilly Fuissé from France.

CARIBBEAN-SPICED ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, rum, and brown sugar; set sauce aside.
• Mix together the cayenne pepper, clove, cinnamon, ginger, pepper, salt, and thyme leaves. Brush the chicken with oil, then coat with the spice mixture.
• Place in a roasting pan, and bake about 90 minutes, until the juices run clear or until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest part of the thigh reaches 180 degrees F. Baste the chicken with the reserved sauce every 20 minutes while it's cooking. Allow chicken to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

ROAST CHICKEN & SPICED RICE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/ gas 6. Pour 800ml just-boiled water into a heatproof jug, crumble in the stock cube and stir in along with half the curry paste and the butter or oil. Pour the mixture into a large baking dish or roasting tin (ours was 25 x 35cm and 5cm deep), and tip in the rice and cinnamon stick. Season and stir well.
• Cut a few deep slashes into each chicken thigh, then rub all over with the remaining curry paste and some seasoning. Arrange on top of the rice mixture, then cover the dish or tin with foil and bake for 30 mins.
• Meanwhile, heat a drizzle of oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, and fry the onion for 10-15 mins, or until soft and caramelised.
• Uncover the chicken and rice. The rice should still be wet, but if not, top up with 50-100ml more water. Scatter over the almonds and bake, uncovered, for 10-15 mins more until the chicken is browned, all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is cooked through and crisp at the edges. Meanwhile, cook the green beans in boiling water for 2-3 mins, then drain. Scatter the coriander and fried onions over the chicken and rice, spoon a few dollops of chutney over the dish, and serve with the green beans.

INDIAN-SPICED ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Mix yogurt, garlic, ginger, lemon juice, honey, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, olive oil, salt, and pepper together in a glass or ceramic bowl. Slather it on the chicken, making sure it gets underneath the skin and into the cavity. Cover the bowl or wrap in plastic wrap.
• Marinate the chicken in a refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake chicken in the preheated oven until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone, should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area for 10 minutes before slicing.

ONE-POT SPICED ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. If you're making the spice mix, combine all the ingredients and set aside. For the sauce, tip the onion, garlic, chilli and ginger into a food processor and blitz until smooth. Heat the oil and ghee or butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat and fry the spiced onion purée with a pinch of salt for 12 mins. Add 2 tbsp of the spice mix, turn up the heat to high and cook for 1 min. Tip in the tomatoes, sugar and 250ml water. Bring to a simmer. Season well with salt and turn off the heat.
• To prepare the chicken, put the remaining spice mix in a bowl with 1 tsp sea salt and the ghee or butter, and mash together. Push two-thirds of the spiced butter beneath the skin of the chicken breasts, then rub the rest over the outside of the breasts and legs. Season the chicken skin with 1 tsp sea salt and tie the legs together. Sit the chicken in a 28-30cm pan, shallow casserole or roasting tin and pour the sauce around the bird. Cover the chicken with foil and roast for 40 mins, then remove the foil and roast for another 30-40 mins, or until cooked through (when you cut into one of the legs, the juices should run clear). Stir the double cream into the sauce. Taste for seasoning and leave to rest, uncovered, for 10 mins.
• Make the chutney by blitzing all the ingredients together in a food processor until coarse. Season to taste.
• Top the chicken with some extra sliced chillies and coriander leaves, then serve with the chutney, pilau rice and naan, if you like.

ROAST SPICED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. In a small bowl, mix the first 5 ingredients. In a small saucepan, melt butter; stir in lemon juice, mustard, paprika and garlic salt. Keep warm., Sprinkle half the thyme mixture inside chicken; if desired, place quartered lemon inside chicken. Place chicken on a rack in a shallow roasting pan, breast side up. Tuck wings under chicken; tie drumsticks together., Brush outside of chicken with 1/2 cup butter mixture; sprinkle with remaining thyme mixture. Roast 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes with remaining butter mixture. (Cover loosely with foil if chicken browns too quickly.), Roast until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh reads 170°-175°, 30-60 minutes longer. Remove chicken from oven; tent with foil. Let stand 15 minutes before carving.

SPICED ROAST CHICKEN BREAST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Pat chicken dry. Stir together spices, salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and rub evenly all over chicken. Heat remaining tablespoon oil in an ovenproof heavy skillet (preferably cast iron) over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken on both sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer skillet to middle of oven and roast chicken, skin side up, until just cooked through, 16 to 18 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate. Add water to pan and deglaze over high heat, scraping up brown bits. Pour pan juices over chicken.