Roasted Whole Chicken makes a nice treat any day and on every occasion but the
fear of messing it up keeps a lot of people from preparing this yummy recipe.
How to Make Roasted Whole Chicken [Video]
The most important thing you need to do when roasting whole chicken is to make
sure that the chicken is thoroughly seasoned. There are many types of seasonings
and vegetables you can use for your roasted chicken and there a many ways to go
about it but the method detailed on this page is how my Mum does it!
Ingredients
Main ingredient
1 whole chicken
Seasoning for the body of the chicken
1 big stock cube
1 teaspoon dry ground cayenne pepper (or ground black pepper)
� teaspoon ground ehu seeds or Calabash Nutmeg (optional)
Stuffing
1 cigar cup or 180g long grain parboiled rice
Vegetables
1 Carrot
1 handful green peas (or green beans)
Seasoning
1 medium onion
1 big stock cube
2 teaspoons curry powder (no chilli)
1 teaspoon thyme
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Side Dish: Roasted Potatoes
6 medium Irish potatoes
Leftover seasoning from that of the chicken
1 teaspoon thyme.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt to taste
More information about the Roasted Whole Chicken ingredients
The chicken
I use rooster or cockerel which is the male chicken because it is softer and cooks
quicker than hen, the female chicken. Even though hen is tastier, it will take much
longer to get done if you use it for this recipe.
Seasoning for the body of the chicken
I only add ground ehu seeds to give the chicken a sort of barbacue/peppersoup
flavour.
Feel free to use other seasonings you like.
Stuffing
You can experiment with other herbs, seasonings and vegetables. It is not
advisable to use soft vegetables because they will be overcooked by the time the
chicken is done.
Side dish
You can skip the potatoes and use only rice. Just parboil the quantity of rice that
will be enough for the stuffing and side dish. Cover the rice with aluminum foil so
that it will not be dry when done.
Before you roast the chicken
1. Prepare the blend of seasonings for the body of the chicken by mixing the dry
ground pepper, stock cube (crushed) and ground ehu seeds.
2. Scrape and cut the carrots into small cubes and cut the onion into small pieces.
3. Peel and cut the potatoes into wedges . You can leave the skin on if you want.
Making the Roasted Whole Chicken: Step by Step
1. Prepare the stuffing.
Parboil the rice like you would parboil rice for Nigerian Jollof Rice. Rinse and put in
a sieve to drain. If you will be using only rice as your side dish, you will need to
parboil enough rice for this purpose.
Put it in a bowl, add the curry powder and mix well.
Add the diced carrots, green peas, diced onions, thyme, salt to taste and some
vegetable oil. Stir well and set aside.
2. Stuff the Chicken
Wash the chicken and dry with a towel.
Stuff the inside with the seasoned rice and vegetables. Do not over fill it because
remember that this rice is only parboiled and it will rise as it cooks.
When done, tie the legs of the chicken. This helps the chicken maintain a more
presentable shape. You don't want it sagging and all over the place.
Set your oven to 180�C (350�F) to preheat.
Rub some vegetable oil on the chicken, sprinkle the blend of seasonings we
prepared earlier and rub it all over the body of the chicken.
Make sure the chicken's wings are tucked away under the chicken or into the
string you used to tie up the chicken.
3. Prepare the side dish
If you want to use only rice as your side dish, then you should have prepared
enough in step 1.
If using potatoes, place the wedges in a bowl, add the remaining seasoing from
the one you rubbed on the body of the chicken, add thyme, salt to taste and some
vegetable oil.
Toss to evenly distribute the seasonings and set aside.
4. Arrange, then roast
Dish the remaining rice from the stuffing into an oven tray leaving some space at
the centre for the chicken.
Place the chicken at the center.
Add the seasoned potatoes around the chicken and place in the preheated oven
and bake for one and a half hours.
The chicken is done when it is golden, the rice inside the chicken is well done and
a cut into the chicken thigh shows a white flesh with some succulent juice.
If the skin is pinkish or even red, the chicken is not done.
That's it! It's not that hard afterall, is it? Serve portions of the chicken with the rice
and roasted potatoes.