by Pheno Menon

Masterclass – Roast whole chicken in microwave convection oven

Roasts and barbecues are my favourite way of eating food whether its veggies or meats. My problem with roast chicken is if you have eaten one you have eaten them all. The whole experience has become boring with the same marinade and taste with god knows what grease used for basting. I also went through a lot of sites and blogs to get the best instructions for grilling it in my oven which is a convection microwave with grill. However the best fool proof way to get the perfectly roasted and cooked chicken was still unsatisfactory. That is when I decided to just go with it and try it anyway.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken completely cleaned inside and out ( I used skinless this time but with skin can also be used for some crisp skin at the end)

Spice mix ( I used a mixture of cinnamon, clove, black and green cardamom, mace and star anise)

Sea salt to taste

Oregano

Lemon grass paste ( I made this at home) but u get ready made ones as well. Its not a show stopper if not available

Cayenne pepper

Dried Rosemary, thyme

ginger garlic paste

crushed pepper

olive oil

coriander and dill leaves

Lets Get to it

  1. Make some slits on the chicken and sprinkle olive oil  to get a good coating (not too much). The olive oil ensures that all the ingredients are nicely packed on to the meat. Too much oil and the ingredients slide to form a gravy leaving the meat bare.
  2. Mix the ingredients together and apply it evenly on to the chicken. Make sure the ingredients are also applied to the inside of the meat and then sewn shut so they dont ooze out. I used wooden toothpicks.  Cover the vessel with film. Leave it in the refrigerator (NOT FREEZER – Yeah you bet I am shouting)
  3. I preheated my oven @ 180 Centigrade in the convection mode and then cooked one side of the chicken at the same te mperature for about 45 mins basting with a little butter every 15 mins so the meat is not cooked too dry. ..The marinade will form a little gravy anyway  and the side that was on the gravy will look soggy.
  4. Nothing to worry about. Turn the chicken over and add the dill leaves and coriander which is finely chopped and roast for about 25-30 mins. I did not put the leaves  before was because too much time in the oven and you end up burning the leaves.

You don’t have to baste with butter since that side was already immersed in the gravy. Please note the time may change according to the weight of the bird. I used one weighing around 1.3 kgs.  What you should now get is a good color on both sides of the chicken with a slightly thick gravy. You can use it as a base for anything else or simply use it as a sauce to dip the pieces and eat. It contains the essence of the chicken and the marinade which is just YUM.

There you have it. Roasted chicken where the amount of  grease, the ingredients and taste is in your control and not at the mercy of the restaurants :).  It came out exactly how I dreamed, with the right moist and perfectly cooked meat. Let me know how it worked for you…

For the veggies you could try the same with whole cauliflower or use large spuds..Bon Apetit!!

grilled chicken, praveen, phenomenal tastes, micorwave convection oven

 

Notes

The worst thing you can do to meat is cook them without patience and on high heat. All u get is outside burnt and inside raw and pink meat.. sheesh. Any meat needs time to cook and get the flavor and essence of the marinade. For that low heat is the best way for an even cook as well as a good heat starting from the inside of the meat.

Linked to ABC Wednesday(H)

About The Author

Pravin Menon aka PhenoMenon is a corporate junkie by day and a food experiencer when he is not working (which he usually is most of the time). He is into adventure sports, food experimentations and when he is not carrying out explosions in the kitchen, he usually is eating (or drinking!) Contact him at pravs@phenomenalworld.in

43 thoughts on “Masterclass – Roast whole chicken in microwave convection oven”

  9. That looks delicious and worth trying thanks for sharing I hate cooking but this is tempting 😉

    Have a peppertastic week 😉

    Reply

  12. Looks and sounds delicious, will try that. we’re having barbecued chicken to night but being spatchcocked and lobbed on the Barbie

    di,x

    Reply

  13. I can smell the aroma of roasted chicken right now! I am famished – should not have read this right at lunch time, lol 🙂
    I love the spice mixture – lovely flavors for sure – you make me want to cook!
    Cheers,
    Susan

    Reply

  14. This surely looks yum. We have done it once in OTG and it turned out great. Will share your marinade recipe with KG, he had used a different one!

    Reply

  22. I want to invite you to the new home of Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/ each week at midnight Tuesday, EST. And you’re welcome to share your blog button for your recurring link-up at the page devoted to Wordless linkups – just remember to use your main blog url rather than a link to an individual post.

    Reply

  26. I can almost smell the chicken…looks and sounds so good. Thanks for sharing with the Thursday Blog Hop!

    Reply

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