Cook Whole Chicken In Oven Breast Up Or Down

Most cooking instructions say to roast a chicken breast side up.

Cook whole chicken in oven breast up or down.

Roasting a whole chicken breast side down allows the juices of the chicken to concentrate in the breast meat as the chicken cooks. Put the lid on and cook the chicken on low for 4 to 5 hours or on high for 2 1 2 to 3 1 2 hours. Brush the surface with the remaining melted butter. It can also save money on your grocery bills since the butcher charges a premium to separate breasts thighs and other cuts of chicken.

Place your seasoned chicken into a slow cooker so the breasts are facing up. Remove the chicken from the oven. Drizzle on a little more olive oil. Raise the heat to 425 f and cook for about 10 15 more minutes until the skin browns a bit and the potatoes are done.

Check the temperature of the breast meat when the skin on the back begins to caramelize when the breast meat reaches 160 165 degrees remove it from the oven. Turn the chicken over so it s breast side up and squeeze the second half of the lemon over it. People try all kinds of tricks to keep the breast from drying out while the legs are still cooking. But you shouldn t keep it breast side down the whole time as it will result in a rather pale looking chicken not the golden brown roasted chicken you re expecting.

I was curious to see if the breast was noticeably moister if the rest of the chicken texture was good and if the flavor was the identical. Remember that you can scatter chopped vegetables such as onions potatoes and carrots around the chicken. Stir in the minced shallots and cook until lightly colored 2 to 3 minutes. With the cavity facing away from you carefully flip the chicken breast side up using paper towels.

Breast meat starts drying out after it reaches 150 f but dark leg meat isn t thoroughly cooked until 165 to 170 f. A breast side up chicken on the other hand sort of looks like a heart with the tips of the drumsticks visible. Toss the potatoes and remove the foil hat. But simply opening up the chicken and cooking it flat brings both kinds of meat to doneness at the same time.

But if you cook it breast side down for 30 min longer the breast meat is much more juicy and tender. Make sure that the oven gets back to about 475ºf 246 c to ensure that the skin properly browns. Learning to roast whole chickens will allow you to prepare meat for a large family or several meals at once. Upside down roast chicken is juicier and more flavorful than right side up chicken.