Combi oven roast chicken

As I have mentioned in the other posts and the Combi roasting table here there are two ways you can get a delicious, moist and tender roast chicken in a combi steam oven.

If you have a Miele there is an Auto Roast Chicken program but be aware it is only for a small, approximately 1-1.2kg chicken which isn’t very big at all.  By all means try the automatic program if you have a small bird as it really is the quickest and easiest way to use the combi.  Basically, season the bird, put it directly onto the oven rack with the solid tray underneath to catch the fat and set Auto: Roast chicken: Start.  The program should take about an hour.  Make a note if you were happy with the browning as next time you can set this to be more or less before you start.

We are having a casual Sunday, family dinner tonight with a roast chicken and I thought I would season with a little sumac, oil and salt and roast on the combination setting.  Serve with my pearl cous cous with dried figs and coriander here for a delicious and simple dinner.  The results were amazing.  The breast meat was so moist and tender and although the oven was dirty afterwards it was worth the effort of cleaning it the following day!

You can also try cutting out the backbone and cooking my Spiced Chicken if you want a little more flavour and a reduced cooking time.  Cooking the chicken flat in the solid tray also reduced the ‘spitting’ factor in the oven so not as much cleaning needed afterwards.

Ingredients:  Serves 4

1 x 1.5kg chicken
splash of olive oil
1 tsp Sumac
½ tsp salt & ground black pepper
few slices lemon & fresh herbs (optional)

Method:

1. Prepare chicken by rinsing out cavity, removing any giblets and excess fat and pat dry.
2. Drizzle the chicken on both sides with a little olive oil.
3. Mix together the seasoning ingredients and rub all over the chicken.
4. Put the lemon slices & some fresh herbs if you wish into the chicken cavity and tie the legs together with a little piece of string.
5. Place breast side up directly on the wire rack with the solid tray underneath and cook on Combination Mode Stage 1: 200°C + 95% moisture for 40 minutes then Stage 2: 200°C + 30% moisture for 20 minutes.  If your chicken is larger than 1.5kg then you will need to alter the time or temperatures you are cooking at.  Check the roasting table and also look at the temperatures I used when cooking the Tarragon roast chicken here.
6. Rest the chicken before carving.  This will be the most delicious and moist roast chicken ever with a crispy skin!

Afterwards remember to do a soak program to help with the cleaning.  You can find this in the ‘Maintenance’ programs in your appliance.