Cooking a chicken safely and properly is very important. An improperly cooked chicken can result in illness, including Salmonella poisoning. Since each chicken weighs a different amount, each chicken needs to be cooked according to how much it weighs. As a general rule, calculate roasted chicken cooking times as 20 minutes per pound, plus an additional 10-20 minutes, at an oven temperature of 350
. degrees.Using a meat thermometer is considered one of the safest ways to cook chicken. A whole chicken is considered safe when a meat thermometer that is inserted in the inner thigh of the chicken reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit or 74 degrees Celsius.Another way to check if the chicken is properly cooked is to wriggle the leg in a circle. If the chicken leg wriggles freely, the chicken is probably cooked.Sticking a skewer in the thigh and watching how the juice runs out is another method used to estimate whether or not the chicken is done. If the juice that runs out is clear, the chicken should be done.Cooking times also vary according to whether the chicken is stuffed or unstuffed. In general, cooking stuffed chickens takes longer than cooking unstuffed chickens. If the chicken being cooked is stuffed add 15 minutes to the total cooking time.Some people prefer to set the oven temperature at 450 degrees for either for the first or last 10-15 minutes of cooking, and 350 degrees for the rest of the cooking time. This will result in a golden brown crispy skin with succulent meat. Even if the skin is going to be discarded, it must still be on the chicken during the roasting time because the skin holds in the moisture. If the skin is removed before roasting the meat will be dry and possibly tough.To find out more about roasting a chicken, visit these websites:More reference links: http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/roasting-chicken/detail.aspx http://www.helpwithcooking.com/cooking-poultry/roast-chicken.html
