Why can't I roast a chicken properly?

[Haylstones]

I'm a pretty competent cook, most things I do turn out Ok so why can't I roast a chicken?!
Every time I do one I cook it for the right amount of time, the juices are clear but the meat is still pink in bits (normally the legs). Yesterday I spent a fortune on a lovely organic free range one, forgot it was in the oven so left it for 30 mins more than recommended. I assumed it was cooked so let it cool before carving; the breast meat was a little dry but the leg meat was still red inside. I had to chuck it then because it had cooed so much I didn't want to risk re-cooking it!
WTF am I doing wrong? Everything else works in my oven so I don;t think that's the problem.

leg meat tends to be a bit coloured? hence fussy bugger ds one refuses to eat it. does it look cooked (in texture that is)?

the leg meat is often darker/pinker than breastmeat.

The meat in the legs in generally browner/pinker than the breast meat so it's probably ok, especially as you've been doing it for the right length of time and the fact that the breast is dry means that it's overdone usually. When I roast a chicken I stick it upside down for the first half hour so that the breast gets all the juices and comes out so much more juicy and yummy.

Is it lunchtime yet?

How long do you cook it for? It should be 20 mins per lb/500g plus 30 mins overall at 200 degrees. That's usually PLENTY. Remember to weigh it after you stuff it (if you do stuffing).

The important questions are:

• Are the leg joints soft - ie can you cut through them with a carving knife?

• Does the juice run clear when you skewer a thigh/breast?

• Does the thigh meat fall off the bone easily?

The colour of the flesh itself is not as important as the above. Thigh meat is dark anyway, and you often get a bit of discolouration from the bone where some marrow will leak out and stain the flesh dark red.

If you are really worried or it looks a little underdone then two tips:

1. Carve it and then put the pieces back in for another 20 minutes on the carving plate.
2. Roast it breast-side down for the first half hour - this means you can cook it for longer without drying the breast meat too much.

I suffer these sort of poultry anxieties too - it's usually the leg meat being darker than the breast meat naturally. DH invested in a meat thermometer for me, so I could feel confident that the dark meat had cooked to the required temperature.

If you return the carved pieces of chicken to the oven to cook for longer, my mum puts some gravy over the meat to stop it drying out too much.

Thanks for the tips. I will try cooking upside down next time.
Im sure the meat wasn't cooked- there were patches of darker coloured/ pink meat that looked uncooked in texture as well as colour- it looked the same as raw chicken (obviously!). The whole leg was darker, which I knew was normal but there were patches that definitely weren't cooked-this happens almost every time
I did wonder about breaking the chicken up and cooking it separately but that seems such a faff.

do you normally buy organic freerange? They often have a much tougher texture and darker colour than "normal" chickens anyway.

Good luck for next time - a meat thermometer is a good idea and not expensive. But you really shouldn't need to cook a chicken so the breast meat is dry in order to get the thighs cooked.

one last tip - if it's trussed then untruss it and take the leg tips out of the cavity so it kind of "sprawls" . It doesn't look as neat but it makes it cook much faster as the hot air can circulate round all the joints.

Yes, normally buy organic freerange.
I did wonder about untrussing it as there was loadsof string round this one for some reason. I may try it again next week then- it's the perfect cheap multi-meal option!

The traditional french way is to turn it around every twenty minutes or so and keep basting with loads of butter - simples - a bit of a faff - but delish

more simple is jamie's way which is slash the legs a bit.

I always untruss

I tried something out of the Sunday Times - put the raw chicken on a bed of onions, garlic, lemon, celery & fresh herbs, slosh over some wine, add seasoning and then roast, you end up with delicious instant gravy mmmm!

Also I wrap it in foil for the first hour or so then remove foil to crisp up the skin.

Yes, if I am doin ga version that doesn't do well with being turned, I also slash the legs a bit for the last 20 minutes of cooking.

i cook mine in a big pyrex/casserole dish thing with a lid. all gets cooked really well and meat falls off the bones.

perfect roast chicken from Times Online