Family style dinners: Basic Roast Chicken

CHICOPEE, Mass. (Mass Appeal) - Between work, bringing kids to their sports games and doing the laundry, cooking a family dinner each and every night isn't always an easy task. In our new series on family style dinners, we'll show you how to save time!

Bill Collins is a personal chef and he showed us how to how to make a basic roast chicken two different ways!

Basic Roast Chicken
Makes 6-8 servings

• 1 4-7 pound chicken, whole
• 1 peeled onion, whole, or cut in half
• olive oil
• salt, pepper, and paprika

Technique #1.

1. Preheat the oven to 375˚.
2. Place the roasting pan you’ll be using, with nothing in it, in the preheated oven while you prepare the bird for cooking. 
3. Remove the giblets from the cavity of the bird.
4. Put the onion in the cavity, and lightly oil the bird’s skin.
5. Sprinkle on salt, pepper, and paprika. 
6. Carefully remove the heated pan from the oven, and place the bird in the pan.
7. Put the chicken in the oven, and cook it for 15-20 minutes per pound, or until the bird is cooked through. The internal temperature of the chicken (check the temperature with an instant-read thermometer, at the thigh) should be 170°
8.  
9. When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the oven, and let it sit for 5-10 minutes, for the juices to settle.
    

Technique #2.

1. Preheat the oven to 375˚.
2. Place a cast iron skillet, with nothing in it, and large enough to hold the chicken, into the preheated oven while you prepare the bird for cooking.  Remove the giblets from the cavity of the bird. Put the onion in the cavity, and lightly oil the birds skin. Sprinkle on salt, pepper, and paprika.
3. Carefully remove the heated pan from the oven, and place the bird in the pan.
4. Put the chicken in the oven, and cook it for 15-20 minutes per pound, or until the bird is cooked through. The internal temperature of the chicken (check the temperature with an instant-read thermometer, at the thigh) should be 170°
5. When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the oven, and let it sit for 5-10 minutes, for the juices to settle.

NOTES:

• Additional seasonings: before cooking, you can sprinkle on garlic and/or onion powder, as well as adobo seasoning
• In addition to an onion in the cavity, you can also put in a cut-up lemon