A whole chicken rubbed with garlic and powdered herbs and roasted at 210°C with wine and water in the tray. About an hour, and it rests fifteen minutes before it is carved.
Half an hour each way
The recipe turned the chicken over after half an hour and then, in the next instruction, took it out of the oven. It never said how long the second side needed.
Another half hour. That is what the hour on the card implies and what the dish requires, and it is now written down.
But an hour is a guide rather than a rule. Chickens vary from a kilo and a half to well over two, and ovens run hot and cold. A small bird can be done in fifty minutes and a large one takes an hour and twenty.
The signal, not the clock
The recipe gave no way of knowing when the chicken was cooked, which on a whole bird is the thing that matters most.
Pierce the thickest part of the thigh, where the leg meets the body, and look at what comes out. Clear juices mean it is done; pink means it needs longer. The leg should also wobble freely in its socket rather than feeling locked.
If you have a thermometer, 75°C in the thigh without touching the bone. But the juices test has been enough for as long as people have roasted chickens and it needs no equipment.
Wine and water in the tray
Half a glass of each, poured into the tray around the bird rather than over it.
Two things happen. The liquid keeps the bottom of the tray from scorching, which matters at 210°C over an hour, and it collects the fat and juices that come off the chicken into something you can spoon over the meat at the table.
Baste with it when you turn the bird. Beer works as well as wine and is what a great many Colombian households use.
The herbs are optional and the recipe means it
Basil, oregano, parsley, rosemary and thyme, all powdered, a quarter teaspoon each. Every one is marked optional and the note repeats it.
That is unusually honest for a recipe and it is worth taking at face value. Garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper on a chicken roasted for an hour gives you a very good roast chicken. The herbs add a layer; they do not carry it.
Brush the mixture inside the cavity as well as over the skin, which the fourth step remembers and most recipes forget.
More chicken
- Sudado de pollo — the stovetop one.
- Chicken in mushroom sauce — in a white sauce.
- Colombian white rice — on the side.
- Ensalada rusa — what goes next to it.
- Chicken casserole — jointed instead of whole.
Roast Chicken FAQ
About half an hour on each side at 210°C, so an hour in total for an average bird. A small one may be done sooner and a large one takes closer to an hour and twenty, which is why the signal matters more than the clock.
Pierce the thickest part of the thigh: the juices should run clear rather than pink. The leg should also move freely in its socket.
So both sides brown and neither dries out. The side facing up gets the direct heat, and half an hour each way evens it out.
They sit in the tray under the bird, keep the bottom from scorching and give you the beginnings of a sauce. Spoon it over the chicken when you turn it.
No. They are all marked optional and the recipe says so. Garlic, salt and pepper carry a roast chicken perfectly well on their own.
It is how Colombian kitchens season a roast, and powdered herbs stick to the oiled skin rather than falling off it. Fresh herbs work but go inside the cavity.
Because a chicken carved straight from the oven loses its juices onto the board. Fifteen minutes and they settle back into the meat, which is the difference between moist and dry.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (cleaned, drawn and plucked)
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ teaspoon powdered basil (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon powdered oregano (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon powdered parsley (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon powdered rosemary (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon powdered thyme (optional)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- ½ glass of water (about 100 ml)
- ½ glass of white wine or beer (about 100 ml)
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
Notas
- The resting is not optional. A chicken carved straight from the oven loses its juices onto the board; fifteen minutes and they settle back into the meat.
- The water and wine in the tray keep the bottom from scorching and give you the beginnings of a sauce. Spoon it over the bird when you turn it.
- You can leave the herbs out altogether and the chicken is still good. Garlic, salt and pepper carry it.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 210ºC (410ºF).
- Put the chicken in a roasting tray and season it with salt and pepper. Pour the half glass of wine or beer and the half glass of water into the tray around the bird.
- Mix the two teaspoons of olive oil with the garlic, basil, oregano, parsley, thyme and rosemary. The herbs are optional and you can use whatever you have.
- With a brush, coat the whole chicken with the mixture, inside the cavity as well as outside.
- Roast for about half an hour, then turn it over so it browns evenly and give it another half hour. Ovens vary and so do chickens: a small bird may be done in an hour, a large one takes closer to an hour and twenty.
- It is ready when the juices run clear rather than pink from the thickest part of the thigh, and the leg moves freely in its socket. Take it out and let it rest for about 15 minutes.
- Carve it into portions.
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