How long and whats the temperature do I bake a whole fryer chicken?

Question

I would like to know how long and at what temperature I would bake a whole fryer chicken. Also, whenever I do bake one, the skin never gets a good crunchy texture and I would like that. How do I get that texture? I wouldn't mind a good recipe also, simple but something with a cajun flare.

Answer 1

I wouldn't recommend baking one, they are best for frying, hence the name. They don't have a lot of real good white meat,so baking them would kind of be redundant.

Just use a vegetable oil,and herbs and spices for seasonings. You can lightly salt after frying.

Answer 2

I massage butter between the skin and meat of the chicken as well as on the outside of the bird.  This helps give the skin some crunch. I cut one onion in half and stuff it in the cavity of the bird with one head of garlic (cut in half), one rib of celery, and salt and pepper.  I also season the outside and inside with poultry and Old Bay seasoning.  

Preheat the oven to 450.  Put the bird in the oven on a roasting rack and lower the temperature to 375.  Cook for about 1 hour, or unitl juice of chicken runs clear.

Answer 3

Roast Chicken.

1 roasting chicken, 5-7 lb.

1-2 oranges, quartered

1 med. onion, quartered

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 tsp. dried rosemary

1/2 c. water

GLAZE:

3 tbsp. grainy mustard

3 tbsp. honey

1 tbsp. apricot or orange jam

3 tbsp. Kahlua

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse chicken inside and out with cold water; pat dry. Squeeze juice of orange all over bird. Then place orange and onion inside bird. Tie legs up.

Sprinkle salt and pepper all over bird, then rosemary. Place bird breast side up in a roasting pan and pour water into pan. Roast chicken for 1 hour. Prepare glaze; heat everything until hot and smooth. Spoon glaze over chicken and bake until bird is golden brown about 40 minutes.

Cooking time is approximate. Bird is cooked when drumstick moves easily.

Answer 4

To "cajun" this up, use Tony Chachere's or other creole seasoning inside and outside the bird, in addition to what the recipes says.

Perfect Roast Chicken

1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs

1 lemon, halved

1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted

1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced

4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks

1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges (optional)

Olive oil

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.

--Ina Garten