Convection Oven Roast Chicken

Convection Oven Roast Chicken

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (5 lb) roasting chickens
• 3⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• fresh herb (rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram, etc.,1/4-inch sprig)
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and cut in half
• 1 small onion, peeled and quartered (about 2 ounces)
• 4 slices lemon zest (1/2-x-3-inches each)
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

Place the toaster oven rack to the lowest position in the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F on the convection setting.
Remove giblets and neck from cavity of chicken, reserve for another use or discard. Rinse chicken with cold water and pat dry.
Place a baking rack into the broiling pan (that is lined with foil) add 1/4 cup water to the pan and lightly spray the baking rack with cooking spray.
Tuck the wings under and place the chicken on the baking rack pan. Clean work surface and hands with soap and hot water before continuing.
Combine the salt and pepper. Rub half the mixture in the cavity of the chicken; then place the herb sprig(s), garlic halves, onion quarters and lemon zest in the cavity of the chicken.
Loosely tie the legs together. Rub the chicken with the olive oil and remaining salt and pepper. Drizzle with the lemon juice.
Place the chicken in the oven and roast at 400°F for 20 minutes, then lower the temperature to 375°F and continue to roast for an additional 12 minutes per pound longer.
Considering my chicken was 5 lbs. I will roast it for 60 minutes. You will have to calculate the time according to your chicken's weight by multiplying 12 minutes times the size per pound of your chicken.
The Internal temperature of the chicken should be 170°F when tested in the breast, and 180°F when tested in the dark meat.
Juices should run clear.
Turn off oven and remove the chicken to a platter. Let stand 10 - 15 minutes before carving . Enjoy it !

Better Cooking Through Convection

Better Cooking Through Convection

Hot air circulating through your oven cooks food more evenly, at lower temperatures, and often with better and faster results

Help! I've got a new convection oven, and I don't know what to do with it." I hear this plea a lot from cooks who have just redone their kitchens, and also from people who are intrigued about convection cooking but aren't sure what the big deal is. The answer is simple: You can cook just about anything in a convection oven, and while learning to use one certainly isn't a big deal, the results you get—evenly cooked cookies, crisp pastry, and juicy, well-browned meats (including that Thanksgiving turkey)—are.

To get comfortable with a convection oven, you just have to start using it. The easiest way to do this is to experiment with your favorite recipes by cooking them at a slightly lower temperature and for a slightly shorter time than you normally would (read The Food Geek's post The Convection Changeover for some good tips on this). But before you do that, or before you follow through with your plans to buy a convection oven, read on to learn how these ovens work, how different models vary, and what kind of results you can expect.

Also, if Sunday dinner is sacred around your house—whether you're using a traditional or convection oven—you'll want to check out our favorite no-fail Sunday suppers that bring the family together—and subscribe to Fine Cooking magazine for reliable recipes for every day of the week.

A convection oven circulates hot air with a fan.
Unlike conventional radiant (also called thermal) ovens, convection ovens have a fan that continuously circulates air through the oven cavity. When hot air is blowing onto food, as opposed to merely surrounding it, the food tends to cook more quickly. A short version of the scientific explanation for this is that moving air speeds up the rate of heat transference that naturally occurs when air of two different temperatures converges. To help understand this, consider wind chill: When cold air blows against you on a blustery winter day, you feel colder more quickly than you do on a windless day of the same temperature.

This acceleration effect is one reason for the superior results you get from convection. The rush of heat speeds up the chemical reactions that occur when food cooks. The butter in a pie crust or a croissant releases its steam quickly, creating flaky layers. The skin of a roasting chicken renders its fat and browns more quickly, so the meat cooks faster and stays juicier. The sugars in roasting vegetables and potatoes begin caramelizing sooner, creating crisp edges, moist interiors, and deep flavors. Overall, food cooked in a convection oven is usually done about 25% faster than it is in a conventional oven.