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Roast dinner help!

miss direct

misfungled
I am making a roast dinner (chicken) tomorrow for pretty much the first time ever. Serving four people. I have bought the chicken, potatoes and have packet stuffing and gravy. Does anyone have any top tips?? I have been googling and some of them sound really complicated. Already realised I'll need to go to the supermarket again in the morning for herbs and lemons and veg....

Got one friend bringing a salad and another bringing a dessert...
 
What sort of fat should I do the potatoes in? I have butter and sunflower oil.

Not seen any root veg around at the moment (can only get what's in season here)...have some frozen peas...
 
A roast is really all in the preparation. Once the boring peeling/cutting up/stuffing is done, it's quite hard to mess up. Honestly.

My roasties are always complimented (crispy/fluffy) and I don't even bother to heat the oil, I just boil them a lot, cover them in oil and stick them in the oven.

Gravy, though. Gravy is important.
 
Pimp up your stuffing add fresh herbs onion celery butter and fresh breadcrumbs to a stuffing mix roll into balls. Much better than s nut roast for any veggies and great for all also make home made Yorkshires
 
The chicken:

Cover with plenty of salt and pepper and oil. Bung in at 180 until it's cooked. I don't add herbs or lemon and nobody seems to complain.

Spuds:

Peel and cut into reasonably sized pieces, parboil for about 10 mins, drain. Give them a good shake in the pan with the lid on so the edges are all fluffy. Bung into tray which has oil in it that's been heating in the oven. Stir them about a bit so they're well coated and cook until they look nice and crispy - you might need to turn them a couple of times. I put the chicken on the top shelf of my oven and the spuds on the second.

I use sunflower oil on the chicken and a mix of olive and sunflower on the spuds but it really doesn't matter. Use whatever oil you have and it'll be fine.

Stuffing:

Follow the packet instruction.
 
A roast is one of the least complicated meals to cook - it's mainly putting things into the oven and waiting. People like to massively over complicate and I never understand why.

If you have carrots it's nice to roast them in honey though - I put them in with my potatoes as they are boiling about half way through and then coat well in oil and runny honey and roast until they're cooked all the way through. Can't beat a honey roasted carrot.
 
Let the chicken warm to room temp before putting in the oven. Don't go straight from fridge to oven.


Personally, I just cover in olive oil and salt and cook at 160 for 90 mins
 
I always put lemon (half a lemon), some garlic and whatever herbs I have leftover inside the chicken, the lemon heats up and keeps the chicken moist and lovely.
Par boil potatoes and roast with butter and rosemary
Fresh herbs in the stuffing
It's going to be amazing.
I want a roast now
 
Pimp up your stuffing add fresh herbs onion celery butter and fresh breadcrumbs to a stuffing mix roll into balls. Much better than s nut roast for any veggies and great for all also make home made Yorkshires

Yeah if you want stuffing, make it into balls as said by ash and stuff the chicken cavity with wedges of lemon, herbs and as much garlic as you can fit in it!
Stuffing the actual chicken and getting that cooked through whilst not over cooking the chicken is impossible for me :oops:

Home made yorkies are easy-ish. Get the oil really got before pouring in the batter though. If you don't have a muffin tin you can make a big one and cut it up, like toad in the hole without the toad :)

And gravy too as others have said.
Even instant gravy is pretty good imho as long as it is thick enough.
 
My mum likes to add thyme to her chicken. I can't bear thyme which might be why I don't add herbs - you never know what people will like or dislike innit.
 
Now I really do have a problem as realised the gas isn't working. Had no hot water all day but only as I went to try to use the hob did I realise. Obviously I make the chicken in the oven, which I think works (?) - I just used the grill to make some toast (?) How do I know??
 
I am making a roast dinner (chicken) tomorrow for pretty much the first time ever. Serving four people. I have bought the chicken, potatoes and have packet stuffing and gravy. Does anyone have any top tips?? I have been googling and some of them sound really complicated. Already realised I'll need to go to the supermarket again in the morning for herbs and lemons and veg....

Got one friend bringing a salad and another bringing a dessert...
salad??? with roast dinner!!!!
 
Now I really do have a problem as realised the gas isn't working. Had no hot water all day but only as I went to try to use the hob did I realise. Obviously I make the chicken in the oven, which I think works (?) - I just used the grill to make some toast (?) How do I know??

Turn the oven on and see if it heats up?[emoji53]
 
I always do the first 40 minutes of the chicken upside down. Help gets the juices in the breast and keep it moist*.


*im starting to understand the aversion to the word moist. It isn't a nice word.
 
I always do the first 40 minutes of the chicken upside down. Help gets the juices in the breast and keep it moist*.


*im starting to understand the aversion to the word moist. It isn't a nice word.
Yeah, this is a good technique and it does make a difference however I usually forget :oops:
 
I always do the first 40 minutes of the chicken upside down. Help gets the juices in the breast and keep it moist*.


*im starting to understand the aversion to the word moist. It isn't a nice word.

:D

I have tried the "upsidedownfirst" approach a few times but the skin always sticks to the bottom before I turn it over :(
What are you doing?
 
:D

I have tried the "upsidedownfirst" approach a few times but the skin always sticks to the bottom before I turn it over :(
What are you doing?
I rub a bit of butter on the breasts and I prop it up on onions/carrots/whatever I've put in to the bottom to make my gravy out of. its only stuck one time when I forgot to turn it over quick enough and the onions etc had cooked enough to let it touch the bottom
 
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