How To Roast a Perfect Italian Whole Chicken

Sunday, February 20, 2011
When it comes to roasting chicken, I should have watched mom when I was younger and wouldn't have struggled with all the things I didn't know about roasting a whole chicken.

Mom's was always perfect in appearance, beautifully browned with flavors that were fabulous in every juicy bite of chicken and after all these years, I finally aced her technique of roasting the perfect Italian-flavored chicken.

These instructions will teach you to clean a whole chicken, what herbs and spices are the best (for an Italian-style flavor of course!), and carving tips.

The bird is perfectly cooked when its internal temperature reaches 165 degrees, so we urge you to invest in that little tool, it's quite handy.

I always remembered mom tenting the bird first to release the inner juices and then roasting it to a moist juicy fork tender chicken that everyone raved about.

After making our version, you'll be an expert on roasting the best whole chicken you ever had and did I mention leftover roasted chicken is awesome in so many recipes?!


delicious juicy roasted chicken on a broiler pan perfectly cooked





Cleaning the Chicken for the first time Story!


Somewhere along the way,I didn't notice when mom cleaned the chicken, that there was a bag of giblets, gizzards, and other items that needed to be removed before cooking, I was around 18 then when I first married.


What a big surprise when carving it up, to see this bag of yuckiness inside my beautiful chicken when I served it, embarrassed was beyond words.


I am here to tell all new cooks, don't attempt to cook the chicken in a frozen state, there is a bag inside to remove.

The bags can also be used to make great soup, the neck and inner parts make a very rich chicken soup!


So to end my terrible cooking story, remove that inside bag guys and gals, remove the bag!!! don't forget about that, cut off the ends (which is the flap of its butt!) and either toss it or set it aside for soup!


delicious juicy roasted chicken on a broiler pan perfectly cooked


Cooking and Carving a Whole Chicken:

  1. Always preheat the oven to very high heat and lower to cook the chicken for around 1 hour and 20 minutes 
  2. If you’re doing roast potatoes and veggies, I place them into the oven for the last 45 minutes of cooking 
  3. Baste the chicken halfway through cooking and add more water if it evaporated
  4. When cooked, let the chicken rest for at least 15 minutes and place it on a board 
  5. Carving the Chicken:
  6. To carve your chicken 
  7. Take off the wings 
  8. Carefully cut down between the leg and the breast 
  9. Cut through the joint and pull the leg off Repeat on the other side, then cut each leg between the thigh and the drumstick so you end up with four portions of dark meat 
  10. Place these on a serving platter 
  11. You should now have a clear space to carve the rest of your chicken 
  12. Angle the knife along the breastbone and carve one side off, then the other 
  13. When Cooking the Bird:
  14. Preheat oven to 500 degrees first 
  15. Use an instant-read thermometer and a roasting meats  
  16. For easier cleanup, line the pan with parchment paper it won't stick!
  17. Tent it for 30 minutes with foil to release the juices and fat from the bird
  18. Gravy is wonderful with the juice so save it for another time 




Herbs to Use When Cooking Chicken or other Meats:


  • Sage: Found in Yugoslavia, Italy, Greece, and Spain. A shrub in the mint family, a slightly bitter taste. Good with pork, sausages, poultry, and hamburgers. Available leaf, powdered, and in rubbed form.
  • Fennel: Found in India, France, and Argentina. In the parsley family but tastes like licorice with tiny yellowish-brown seeds. Taste good in soups, fish, sauces, sweet pickles, bread, and rolls. Available whole or ground.
  • Tarragon: Found in France, U.S. A flower top plant that has a pungent flavor resembling licorice. Good with fish sauces, eggs, cheese dishes, green salads, pickles, vinegar, chicken, tomatoes, and sauces for meats and vegetables. Available whole or ground.
  • Thyme: Found in France and Spain. It is a member of the mint family. Good in soups, chowders, stuffings, beef, lamb, veal, pork dishes, oysters, eggs, cheese, bean and vegetable soups, and fish. Available whole or powdered.
  • Parsley: Found in U.S. and Europe. Tiny green leaves grow in clusters on the low plant, a mildly tangy flavor. Good with meat, vegetables, sauces, soups, eggs, and cheese. Available whole, ground, flakes.
  • Dill: Found in India and U.S. Parsley family with a delicate caraway flavor. Taste good with fish, cream, cottage cheese, fish, vegetables, pickles, tomatoes, and potatoes. Available whole and ground
  • Basil: Found in India, Western Europe, and the U.S. Member of the mint family, sweet flavored like licorice taste. Taste good with tomatoes, peas, squash lamb, fish, eggs, salads, cheese, duck, and potatoes, Available whole and ground.
  • Bay Leaf: Found in Turkey Yugoslavia, Portugal, and Greece. Green from the leaf of the laurel tree, has a pungent flavor. Good with vegetable and fish soups, tomato sauces, tomato juice, poached fish, and meat stews. Available in whole-leaf form.
  • Chervil: Found in France and the U.S. Member of the parsley family. Mild flavor. Good with cheese dishes, chicken, peas, spinach, green salads, and cream soups. Available whole, ground.
  • Oregano: Found in Mexico, Italy, Chile, France, U.S. Member of the mint family. Slightly bitter taste.Good with tomato sauces, pizza, chicken, pork, beef, veal, vegetables, fish salads, and chili. Available whole and ground.
  • Mint: Found in all parts of the world, this can grow anywhere and also spread. It is a dried leaf of peppermint or spearmint plant with a strong sweet odor and a tangy cool taste. Taste good in jellies, juices, candies, frosting, cakes, pies, lamb, ice cream, potatoes, peas, and chocolate desserts. Available, whole, dried, sprigs, and flaked.
  • Rosemary: Found in France, Spain, and Portugal. It is the leaf of an evergreen shrub. Curved pine needles with a piney taste. Taste good with poultry stuffing, veal and lamb roasts, potatoes, cauliflower, fish, and duck. Available whole and ground.
  • Marjoram: Found in France, Germany, and Chile. A member of the mint family. Good with chowders, vegetables, soups, eggs, cheese dishes, stews, roast chicken, beef, lamb, and pork stuffings. Available whole and ground.




Cooking a Whole Chicken From Scratch


Through trial and error, I learned a great deal on how to cook the perfect chicken bursting with fantastic flavors throughout even slice.

Cooking a whole chicken is super easy to do with our easy methods, give it a try, whole chicken is great in sandwiches leftovers, chili, stews, and much more.

You may want to check out our Chicken Waldorf Salad with Rotisserie Chicken there are many recipe ideas for using leftover roasted chicken!



How To Roast a Perfect Italian Whole Chicken

How To Roast a Perfect Italian Whole Chicken

Yield: 12
Author: Claudia Lamascolo
Prep time: 25 MinCook time: 1 H & 30 MTotal time: 1 H & 55 M
This is a step-by-step how-to roast whole chicken Italian style from start to finish with easy instructions.

Ingredients

  • 1 - (3 1/2 to 4 pound) chicken removes inside package cut the bottom of the overlapping skin off, rinse and pat dry, remove all the inside and rinse in cold water till everything inside is cleaned out. ( save the necks and gizzards to make soup later if you wish!)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper(you can also use white pepper and a dash of cayenne if you like it with heat )
  • 1 lemon, halved and seeded (oranges are a nice change also)
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon dried basil
  • 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon dried or fresh parsley
  • 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary chopped
  • 1 teaspoon thyme (ground) or fresh
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup chicken stock (or use bouillon mixed with water)
  • 1 cup dry white wine or dry Marsala
  • Note: use all fresh herbs when in the season if possible
  • Optional: Stuff the cavity with onions, carrots, and celery for even more flavor

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees
  2. Clean the chicken, rinse and pat dry.
  3. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees and oil spray the pan you're using.
  4. Note: Use a large roasting pan (big enough to fit the chicken).
  5. Season the chicken both inside and out with salt and black pepper evenly.
  6. Squeeze the lemon halves over the chicken and place the rinds inside the cavity.
  7. Place the garlic inside the chicken and any vegetables you decide to stuff it with.
  8. Drizzle the top with olive oil
  9. In a small bowl add all the herbs and the rest of the spices and stir together.
  10. Sprinkle the chicken inside and out with the herb and spice mixture.
  11. Lower the temperature to 400 degrees.
  12. Pour the wine into the pan with chicken stock.
  13. Place an aluminum foil tent over the chicken for 30 minutes then remove it.
  14. The rule of thumb is to roast the bird for 20 minutes per pound,
  15. Roast the chicken until the thickest part is 165 degrees using an instant-read thermometer.
  16. Tip: wiggle the leg if it tears easily the chicken is done cooking.
  17. Cool for 10 minutes before carving.
  18. Gravy Option:
  19. This makes excellent gravy.
  20. Just remove around 2 cups of juice from the pan.
  21. Whisk in 3 tablespoons of cornstarch.
  22. Bring to a boil
  23. If it gets too thick or it's too thin add some water to make thinner or more cornstarch for a thicker gravy.
  24. Salt, and pepper to taste.

Notes



Tips for Carving the Cooking Whole Chicken:

  1. Always preheat the oven to very high heat and lower to cook the chicken for around 1 hour and 20 minutes 
  2. If you’re doing roast potatoes and veggies, I place them into the oven for the last 45 minutes of cooking 
  3. Baste the chicken halfway through cooking and add more water if it evaporated
  4. When cooked, let the chicken rest for at least 15 minutes and place it on a board 
  5. Carving the Chicken:
  6. To carve your chicken 
  7. Take off the wings 
  8. Carefully cut down between the leg and the breast 
  9. Cut through the joint and pull the leg off Repeat on the other side, then cut each leg between the thigh and the drumstick so you end up with four portions of dark meat 
  10. Place these on a serving platter 
  11. You should now have a clear space to carve the rest of your chicken 
  12. Angle the knife along the breastbone and carve one side off, then the other 
  13. When Cooking the Bird:
  14. Preheat oven to 500 degrees first 
  15. Use an instant-read thermometer and a roasting meats  
  16. For easier cleanup, line the pan with parchment paper it won't stick!
  17. Tent it for 30 minutes with foil to release the juices and fat from the bird
  18. Gravy is wonderful with the juice so save it for another time 


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perfectly roasted Italian chicken, roasting a whole chicken, how to carve the whole chicken, Italian roasted chicken, how to clean a whole chicken
Italian, American




Serving Suggestions and Side Dishes:

  • corn on the cob
  • pasta aioli
  • garlic herbs mashed potatoes
  • air fried potato fan
  • baked round potatoes with herbs
  • twice-baked sweet potatoes
  • roasted vegetables




  • delicious juicy roasted chicken on a broiler pan perfectly cooked


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    21 comments

    1. Great tips! Haha - I have a friend who kept that baggie TWICE. Oops!

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    2. Thank you, Claudia, for sharing such a detailed entry on how to roasting a perfect chicken. I find the tips very helpful too.

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    3. fantastic recipe. Very flavoured!! Have a nice sunday

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    4. Thank you for the tips :) I think it would be delicious next time i prepare it!

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    5. LOL @ leaving the bag inside... thank you for the laugh!! :)
      Also, thank you so much for all these wonderful tips...I have copied them and saved them in my documents so I can follow your instructions the next time that I pick up some chicken. Great post, Claudia!

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    6. What a perfect Sunday Dinner Claudia! Great tips for beginners as well. Lot's of great information here!

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    7. No matter what else is served a perfectly roasted chicken always satisfies. This looks delicious.

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    8. A great roast chicken is never a disappointment and you just might have some leftover chicken. Great tips, too, Claudia -- thanks!

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    9. Ha! It is confession time....I once unknowingly left that little baggie of 'goodies' inside a chicken as well...who knew? I guess some of us learned the hard (and embarassing way). Great tips to pass on Claudia! That chicken looks amazing!

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    10. One of my favorite meals and you have done it to perfection. The tips are good to know and I had to smile at cooking the chicken with the little bags inside. I've made many gaffes in my cooking life!

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    11. Great tips and I love all of the spices you used, quite similar to the ones I use for roasted chicken. Too funny about the bag of giblets :( Well we all make mistakes, don't we, hehe:) My grocery store labels the chicken "giblets not included" thankfully.

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    12. What a great, must-have around the kitchen recipe, Claudia. I've done that with the bag of stuff too! All of your tips are so wise!

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    13. Nothing compares to a roasted chicken - yours is perfect Claudia! Thanks for all the tips!

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    14. I love the twist in roasting this chicken! Very lovely!
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    15. Great list of tips, and spice varieties too!

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    16. Great tutorial Claudia - you should run a cooking school specialising in Italian cooking and desserts, seriously!

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    17. What a perfect looking roasted chicken, and I love all of your tips!

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    18. thank for your tips,the chicken looks perfect!

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    19. Claudia, this looks fantastic! I know I"m a little late to visit on this post, but man, I need to make a whole chicken soon! :)

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    20. Very helpful tips!!! You gave me an idea on what to serve on Sunday! Thanks for sharing!

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    Remember to use the search option for a recipe you're looking for and thanks for all your kind words and support. We love our readers all the best Claudia