My mum always made this French roast chicken for us on Sunday's, and it's one of my favorite meals.
The Poulet Rôti, as it is known in French, is roasted crisp on the outside but retains all the wonderful fragrant juices on the inside.
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Do you and your family enjoy a good Sunday roast? My mum also prepares this boneless pork loin roast and a herb flavored beef tenderloin.
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Ingredient List
- Olive Oil
- Salt & Black Pepper Ground
- Thyme Fresh — If possible, only fresh Thyme instead of dried Thyme as it makes a difference in the flavor profile.
- Whole Chicken — Broiler type *see further below for size options.
- Mushrooms — I like fresh button mushrooms, but you can use other varieties too. If you don't like mushrooms, skip it.
- Shallot — Onions as alternative.
- Garlic Cloves
- Water
Preparation Overview
Step 1
Separate the neck and giblet from your chicken if there is any. Rinse your chicken and pat dry with a paper towel.
Tie the legs together if you have a kitchen yarn. I find it easier to work this way.
Step 2
Place the whole raw chicken (breast up!) into a roasting pan or casserole or similar.
Your chicken should fit in, and you should have space to add other ingredients such as mushrooms, potatoes, vegetables of your choice.
Step 3
In a bowl, mix, the fresh thyme, chopped garlic, salt, and pepper with the olive oil.
Pour the olive oil mixture over the chicken and leave some over to rub it into the chicken (because your store-bought chicken comes gutted and hollow, and we want to add flavor there too).
Step 4
Cook your chicken in your preheated oven at 350 Fahrenheit/ 180 Celsius until you have a roasted, crispy oven baked chicken.
Take out the chicken every 15–20 minutes to baste it with the roasting pan sauce or pour over sauce. Don't skip the basting part, it's essential for a crispy chicken skin!
Step 5
Leave your baked chicken to cool before you carve it out.
📖 Recipe
Mum's French Roast Chicken (Poulet Rôti)
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground
- 2 Tablespoon Thyme Fresh or a few sprigs
- 1 Whole Chicken broiler type *see post for size
- 8.8 Ounces Mushrooms whole or halved
- 3-4 Shallot cut into pieces
- 3 Pieces Garlic Cloves cut roughly or sliced
- 1 ¼ Cup Water
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 Fahrenheit/ 180 Celcius.
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil, 1 Teaspoon Salt, ½ Teaspoon Black Pepper Ground, 2 Tablespoon Thyme Fresh
- Remove the chicken neck and giblets if there are any. Rinse the chicken, tap dry with a paper towel and place the chicken with the breast up into a roasting plate1 Whole Chicken
- Take some of the olive oil mixture and rub into the chicken. Tie your chicken legs together if you like (I prefer it that way). Rub the remaining olive oil mixture over the chicken breast into the skin.
- Place the mushrooms, shallots and the rest of the garlic around the chicken. Take the chicken dish into the oven to roast.8.8 Ounces Mushrooms, 3-4 Shallot, 3 Pieces Garlic Cloves
- Roast the chicken for 15 to 20 minutes and take it out again. Pour water over the chicken and mushrooms. Take the chicken plate back to the heat into the oven1 ¼ Cup Water
- Repeat the process every 15 minutes by pouring/basting the sauce in the plate over the chicken. That will keep the chicken meat moist and will crispen the skin.
- Check with a meat thermometer if the chicken is done by pocking into the main body. The chicken is cooked through when you have reached 170 Fahrenheit/ 75 Celsius.
Equipment
- Kitchen twine to tie the chicken drumsticks
- 9 x 13" Rectangular Baking Dish to roast chicken
- Silicone Brush (high heat resistant) to brush the skin
Nutrition
Chicken Cooking Duration and Sizes
The roast chicken cooking time in the oven depends on the size of your chicken. A smaller young chicken will cook faster, a large chicken will take much longer to cook through.
Your Chicken will be uncooked on the inside and dry on the outer parts if your chicken cooks on high heat but not long enough.
The right balance between the size of your chicken, the oven temperature and roasting time is important for a perfect crispy skinned oven roasted chicken.
Roast your Chicken at 350 Fahrenheit/ 180 Celsius and look up your chicken size to see for how long you need to roast your chicken.
- Cornish Game Hen — A young chicken, weighs less than 2 pounds/ 1 kilogram. Cooking time = 40 to 50 minutes.
- Broiler (aka Fryer Chicken) — About 6 to 7 weeks old, weighs somewhere between 2 and 5 pounds/ 1 to 2.3 kilograms. Cooking time = about 50 to 60 minutes.
- Roaster — About 8 weeks old, weighs more than 5 pounds/ 2.3 kilograms. Cooking time = about 1 hour to 1h 20 mins.
The chicken type is always mentioned on the packaging label. If that is missing, go after weight.
I usually get a broiler chicken because they tend to cook more evenly and the meat turns out juicier as well.
However, I strongly recommend that you get a meat thermometer to check the chicken's temperature on the inside.
Check at the temperature at the deepest point on the main body, where you have the most meat.
Perfect Roast Chicken internal Temperature is about 170 Fahrenheit/ 75 Celsius.
Tips
Baste your chicken frequently with the oily sauce. The chicken meat will remain moist, tender and juicy and the skin will turn out crispy. I take out my chicken every 15 or so minutes and baste it with the juice in the pan.
Make a few cuts into your chicken if you are unsure if your chicken will cook through properly.
This can help when you have a large chicken and when you are going to carve it out anyway right after the roasted chicken has cooled down.
Use your meat Thermometer to check on the internal temperature of your roast chicken. Do not exceed 180 Fahrenheit / 80 Celsius.
Variations
My mum's recipe is a French herb roasted chicken seasoned with fresh thyme and garlic.
Olive oil blends well with the fresh herb and keeps the chicken meat moist and will turn it into a crispy roast chicken. Pick a cold-pressed olive oil for the best flavor experience.
I love adding mushrooms around the chicken to the baking dish. Such as button mushrooms (aka champignon de Paris) or Chanterelle and Oyster Mushrooms.
But you can add in some root vegetables too, such as potatoes, parsnips, and carrots.
Leftovers
We tend to have leftovers if we make it for us two at home, which is usually great because these chicken leftovers taste even better the next day.
Separate the edible meat and skin pieces from the bones.
You can refrigerate the chicken for up to 2–3 days in your fridge and reheat it in the oven or microwave.
I like to use these leftovers in other meals, such as to make a chicken pot pie (a Tourte in French) or to add the chicken to a soup or pasta dish. I mean, you can use your roast chicken leftovers, just like rotisserie chicken.
I do not discard the bones, they are cooked with water to prepare a stock. This stock is then used in soups and sauces.
Is the 1 1/4 cup of water to pour over the chicken, divided over the 3 times (1/4 each time), or is it 1 1/4 c each time?
No, place the chicken into the oven. Roast it for about 15 minutes, take it out, and pour all the water over the chicken and into the roasting pan. I clarified it in the recipe card again with the ingredient quantity next to the step in light grey. Then you just need to roast it further and take the chicken out every 15 minutes or so, to baste the chicken with the liquids that are already sitting in the pan. That way your chicken will turn out crispy on the outside and juice on the inside.
I love the use of mushrooms in this recipe! Thyme is used a lot in Jamaican cuisine so I always have it at hand. I would love to try this recipe - I'm going to make sure I update my grocery list. Lovely photographs, Helene! 🙂
The roast chicken is so good! It's one of the ultimate comforting foods, especially for lunch on Sundays 🙂
Nothing beats a good roast chicken, Helene and I have to say, yours looks superb! I love the addition of thyme. I usually season chicken with sage but I actually prefer thyme. Must try it next time.
Thank you so much for sharing...
sundays are definitely the perfect days for a meal like this!
Yummy! The chicken looks so moist and delish. Thanks for sharing all the great roasting tips!
This is a lovely way to cook a chicken and I had a feeling this was a French recipe. This is great comfort cooking and perfect for a Sunday night xx
yes I completely agree Charlie =) Was it the thyme that gave it away? =P
My friend makes something similar to this and it is divine!! 😀
Flavouring this chicken looks perfect 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thank you for this wonderful post, Helene. Love for your mum seems to be infused into your words and recipe <3
Oh yes the lavender fields are amazing and the air smells so wonderfully too. I really miss the south, is it very visible in this post? 😉
We love roasted chickens in my house. In fact my husband would be happy eating one every night of the week. Your mums recipe sounds wonderful and moist. I'll have to give it a try.
haha just like my husband. lol Those boys no?! 😉
A whole roast chicken is such a classic dish. An absolute comfort food for me. This one looks amazing.
It has been a long while since I last did a whole chicken. I love thyme and use it a lot in my baking too. The chicken looks very tender and delicious, Helene.
Oh yes I saw that you used it a lot in your cooking. Thank you for your compliment.
Great looking chicken! Roast chicken is one of those dishes we have at least once a month - it's such good stuff! Thyme is probably my favorite herb, and I use it with everything, but I agree it's terrific with chicken. Good post - thanks.
I didn't have it for a very long time. Only when we got our oven in september I had the chance to make it once again. It's great isn't it? =)
Oh, yes. Now I must put a whole chicken on my shopping list! Your roast chicken is picture perfect!