How to Roast a Chicken and Root Vegetables, by Mama Natural on YouTube. 3 min 12 s.
- Video length
- 3 min 12 s
- Time to do it
- 2 hours 30 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Heat the oven to 450°F. Chop your root vegetables into thin discs, about 1/4 inch or thinner. Potatoes, carrots, sweet potato, rutabaga, turnip and celeriac all work well.
Spread the chopped vegetables over the bottom of a roasting pan. Dot with about 4 tablespoons of butter and season with salt, pepper and mixed herbs.
Pat the chicken dry and set it breast-side down on the rack above the vegetables. Season the skin with salt, pepper and any spices you like.
For extra flavour, slide thin slivers of butter and garlic under the skin. Scatter a few garlic cloves among the vegetables too.
Roast at 450°F for 20 minutes. This first hot blast starts the skin browning while the vegetables begin to soften.
Pull out the pan, turn the chicken breast-side up and lower the oven to 350°F. Cook for about another hour.
Aim for roughly 20 minutes of total cooking per pound. Check that the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F on a meat thermometer.
Take the bird out and rest it for 20 minutes before carving. The vegetables should be soft and soaked in the chicken drippings.
Tips and common mistakes
Wash your hands, knife and board with hot soapy water after they touch raw chicken, and never pour the raw juices back over the cooked bird.
Keep the vegetable layer fairly thin and even so it cooks through in the same time as the chicken.
Letting the chicken rest before carving keeps the juices in the meat instead of on the board.
Save the bones in a pot or freezer bag to make stock later.
Questions
Do I have to use the exact vegetables listed?
No. Any firm root vegetable works. Use what you have, but cut everything to a similar thin size so it cooks evenly.
How long does a whole chicken take to roast?
Plan on about 20 minutes per pound in total, plus 20 minutes of resting. Always check the thigh reaches 165°F rather than going by time alone.
Can I roast the chicken without a rack?
Yes, but the vegetables will sit in more fat and the bird may not brown as evenly underneath. A rack keeps the chicken just above the veg.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
