I make a consistently bad roast chicken. train me up.

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I'm not a daft cook, I can do LOADS of gorgeous meals, but my roast chickens are SHIT!! overcooked breast and undercooked legs.

I usually do Hugh Fernley's method of 20 minute sizzle at 220, then down to 180 for the rest of it.

I've also done Jamie O's thing of slashing the legs to get the heat in and of course, butter under the skin, but all crapola.

Tesco's rotisserie chickens beat me hands down every time (and are cheaper).

WHY OH WHY???

I do it like www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes/perfect-roast-chicken this. Jamie O's easy way. Use his method of making gravy too. easy and pretty stress free.

pah, forgot to tick the box, try the link again www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes/perfect-roast-chicken

i always use something similar to this and the chicken cooks perfectly

other tips are to get a good quality chicken - not too big either ........ for crispy skin you will need to remove the lid for the last 20 mins

I untruss, and stick a lemon, some garlic and thyme inside and then just shove it in on about 170-180 (fan) for about an hour and a half depending on the size.

Always comes out beautifully moist and with nice crispy skin on the legs.

Chicken brick.

Pre heat oven to 200 deg C. Scatter chicken with salt and pepper. I don't bother with olive oil because it burns. Put on roasting rack on oven tray UPSIDE DOWN (ie, breast down). stick giblets, neck, sliced onion underneath the rack. If no rack put chicken straight on veg. When there is 45 minutes of cooking time left, get chicken out and turn right way up. All the juices stay in the breast this way, so does not dry out, and the skin gets crispy. If you want to use some oil I'd use sunflower on the skin.

When it's done, remove chicken and rack, drain fat off the tray and add stock and / or wine. Bubble on stove, scraping pan to get crusty bits off. Then tip through a sieve for great gravy. I don't thicken mine but if you wanted to, after straining, add some flour and return to cook in the roasting tin on the hob. Obviously, you need to do spuds in a separate baking tin otherwise there are no juices for gravy.

Occasionally I do things with garlic,lemon, herbs etc, but the basic job is my family's favourite.

190°C 20 minutes a pound and 20 over. Butter or bacon under skin if you like.
Buy a meat thermometer and google the right temp. I can't remember it's stuck inside my cupboard.
I also have a combined microwave oven that does brilliant chicken really quick, but Christmas sized ones are pushing it a bit.

Oh and untie the legs if they are refusing to cook.

Another tip is to make sure it is at room temperature before you put it in the oven. I use Nigella's guidelines - usually find that it doesn't need quite as long as she says.
I do always buy either organic or free range, perhaps that helps?

ROASTING BAGS!!

Sorry for shouting but whoever invented them needs the Nobel prize for cookery. The ones I'm using at the moment seem to split about 20 mins before end of cooking time, so you don't even need to cut the bag to crisp it up. Great if you shove some veggies in with the chicken, they cook at the same time and all come out lovely and chickeny. Dead easy.

Organic free range bird, oven at 160 (fan) in for 10-15 mins less than it says on packet. Obvs make sure juices run clear when you take it out. I don't cover it. I sometimes baste and/or turn it upside down for half an hour. Butter and salt on breast and legs. Juicy and moist with crispy skin yum yum yum.

Lumps of butter pushed under the skin, smeared over the breast as far as possible. Season and throw lots of tarragon over it. Put on trivet in roasting pan (not essential but it helps). Pour in a bit of water. Cover with thick foil or double layer of foil. Put in oven at top temp for about 20 mins and then turn down to gas 3 or about 180 deg. Leave for as long as you like. I never do it for less than 3 hrs. About 45 mins before everything else is ready (more or less when the roast spuds are going in) take the foil off to brown the skin(sometimes it's brown and crisp already). Done. I admit, that it tends to fall apart rather easily when transferring to carving tray, but it's moist and delicious. You can put veg under it while it's cooking, too.

Oven on at about 160 - 180 - tbh the lower the better.

Take off all the string trussing it all up and snip into where the legs join the body.

Turn it upside down and cook for the first half an hour and then whip it out and turn it breast side up to cook until it is done.

Lots of salt and pepper on the skin so it crisps up before you cook it!

Gosh, we go very basic here. Pretty much season and throw in for how ever much time on label! (dh is a trained Savoy chef) this gives yummy crispy skin and moist chicken....DH always steals oysters from underneath and I, used to, gobble skin.

I just cook them the same as my mum did... 20min per lb + 20 mins, shove a lemon which has been cut in two and a few cloves of garlic up it's bum and cover it with foil which I remove for the last 20 mins to brown it up (I give it a quick baste when I uncover it and sprinkle some herbs and sea salt on it).

Oh forgot, I cook at around 180 (gas 5?)

Unwrap chicken
Bung on grill pan
Throw a bit of oil on top
90 minutes at 200C

Perfect chicken every time.

Ok, to summarise:

less heat
bacon over breast (not mine)
upside down
wine in pan
unsnip trussings
cook on hob (INTERESTING)
chicken brick (boo hoo to no more habitat)
2.5 to 3 hours cooking time ()
good quality chicken
lemon/onion in cavity
basting
roasting bags (never tried)
room temperature prior to oven
plenty of seasoning

EXCELLENT

I'm now going to order the poshest bird I can find, the Kate Middleton of chickens, for next week and will report back.

cheers y'all

Ohhhhhhhh to chicken brick. Thank you OLKN

I was imagining some kind of house brick type thing that you had to balance the chicken on

Do let us know how you get on! I am a bit at the cooking time but I am a Hugh girl so would at that really!

I always get a corn fed free range from waitrose BTW I find corn fed ones have really tasty meat

I prepare it by Sticking an onion and a lemon inside. I then place 2 knobs of butter under the skin of the breast, rub olive oil in the skin, season with salt and pepper and place it in the oven at 180. I cook it for 20mins per pound.

Buy a digital meat thermometer - stick in chicken after about an hour and at intervals thereafter until it reads 70 deg c. in thickest bit.
Take out of oven and rest while you cook the roasties and make teh gravy. (I just stick mine in at 200 deg and leave it for about 1 hour - 1 hour 15 - also do it on the barbie on indirect heat and comes out fine)