Baked whole chicken is a traditional celebratory dinner dish in many cuisines. The most common recipes for baked chicken use chicken breast, thighs, wings or a whole chicken. But cooking a chicken so it’s tender and not overdried can be a bit of a tricky business.
| Method | Time |
| 4 pound chicken in an oven | 75-90 minutes |
| For each additional pound of chicken weight | add 15-20 minutes |
| Resting time after cooked | 15-20 minutes |
| Cooking chicken is fun if you follow these instructions. You will forget about overdried meat completely! | |
Depending on whether you are cooking chicken parts or a whole bird, the temperature and time of how long it needs to be cooked may vary. Chicken meat tends to dry very quickly if overdone, and undercooked chicken meat may pose a threat of salmonella, so take note to carefully follow the instructions when you bake chicken.
If you are baking a whole chicken, much depends on whether it’s stuffed with any other ingredients, such as veggies, lemons or bread crumbs, or unstuffed and how much the chicken weighs. An unstuffed chicken of about 3.5 – 4 pounds should be cooked in an oven for 75 minutes to an hour and a half. For each additional pound of weight of your chicken, you should add extra 20 minutes of baking time.
If your chicken is stuffed, make sure you add about half an hour of cooking time. For each variant, add another 15-20 minutes for the chicken to sit and rest after its done. This way, you will serve the most delicious, juicy chicken meat with crispy skin ever. A small tip – if you’re aiming for a truly crispy crust for your chicken, rub it with salt and a tablespoon of olive oil before you put it in the oven.
Want to learn how to bake chicken? View Recipe ?
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