Or is my oven?

[TheImminentGin]

I pre heated the oven to 190degrees as per instructions on the chicken wrapping. I know it's 190 degrees in there because I bought an oven thermometer after several meals got burnt to blackened, wizened crispy things.
I put maybe two tablespoonfuls of sunflower oil in the bottom of a heavy and medium sized roasting tin and roll the chicken around in it to coat. Then the tin with chicken in it get placed inside the oven. The shelf is near the bottom so that the chicken sits about mid oven.
Within ten minutes there is a smell of smoke and when I open the oven door smoke billows out. The oil is sputtering and hitting the element at the top of the oven, the sides of the oven and the bottom of the oven, not to forget the inside of the door. As the chicken releases more fat there is more spitting and burning and smoke.
I've never had an oven where this was such a problem, so is it me or the oven?

Well, chickens do spit a lot- and you don't need extra oil in with it - that won't be helping.

My Mum's oven does this and I can't figure out why I don't cook enough when there

YOIBU

InSpace would you put a chicken in dry?

It's Prob because the element is exposed. Try cooking the chicken in a covered casserole- just take the lid off for the last half hour to crisp skin. Or cook at a slightly lower temp for longer, and try not using the oil

Yeah-always dry

Have you got it on the right setting? My oven has a grill + oven function - so direct and all round heat. Roasting a chicken like this would produce a lot of spitting and smoking as the fat hit the element.

InSpace Yes, during the process I considered covering it but wanted the crispiness.
catford so for roasting should you just be using bottom heat? Omg, perhaps I have been unreasonable!

Yes, if you have a fan oven turn it to the little fan symbol (rather than fan + grill).

I agree with pp who thinks you are using the wrong setting.

I agree if it's a combined oven and grill you need to just use oven setting not grill too

Is your tray up too high? And I alway cook a chicken dry!

It's not a fan oven- SO unreasonable!
It has the settings: something that looks like a lightbulb, a bottom bar, a wavy top bar (that'll be grill then) and top and bottom bar together.
If top and bottom bar aren't for general oven-ness what is that setting for then?

top and bottom bar sounds like general oven. Post a picture of it and we can all have a good laugh if you've got it wrong

I put the chicken on a rack in a roasting tin and put some water in the base with a couple of slices of lemon. Cover with foil totally (like a tent) and cook for about 20/30 minutes longer than usual.

Remove the foil so the chicken skin can crisp for the last 20 minutes and it is the most deliciously moist tender chicken ever.

Exciting news. I have found the instructions for the oven.
I was getting prepared to be laughed at but no!- the oven is being unreasonable.
The instructions say that for roasting meat the bottom and top elements should be on. Although there is a setting for just using the bottom element, nowhere in the instructions does it say anything about using it on its own.
In future I will have to pander to its unreasonableness by tenting meat in foil, casserolling it or otherwise shielding the exposed element from perfectly normal and reasonable cooking methods.

Hmm. I once had an oven like that. It was shit and used to smoke like a bastard.

I always cover the chicken with foil and take it off for the last half hour to brown it.

We have just got rid of our element oven, mainly because we needed a bigger one due to large family (this one is fan oven)

I found the oven with the elements awful for this, got dirty really easy and the smoke!

yabu for not covering the chicken with slices of streaky bacon!

Had a lesson from a chef on chickens once - he did season, lemon in cavity, high heat for 30 mins to start to crisp the skin, prick all over with a skewer to let the fat out which also helps the skin crisp and then turn down to a medium heat until fully cooked. Lovely crisp skin that way but no ongoing spitting / smoke