Roast chicken is
chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...
prepared as food by
roasting
Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelizat ...
whether in a home kitchen, over a fire, or with a
rotisserie
Rotisserie, also known as spit-roasting, is a style of roasting where meat is skewered on a spit – a long, solid rod used to hold food while it is being cooked over a fire in a fireplace or over a campfire, or roasted in an oven. This meth ...
(rotary spit). Generally, the chicken is roasted with its own fat and juices by circulating the meat during roasting, and therefore, are usually cooked exposed to fire or heat with some type of rotary grill so that the circulation of these fats and juices is as efficient as possible. Roast chicken is a dish that appears in a wide variety of cuisines worldwide.
Varieties
Hendl
Hendl is the
Austro-Bavarian
Bavarian (; ), alternately Austro-Bavarian, is a group of Upper German varieties spoken in the south-east of the German language area, including the German state of Bavaria, most of Austria, and South Tyrol in Italy. Prior to 1945, Bavaria ...
word for chicken, most commonly in its roasted form (''Brathendl''). Another popular form is the fried ''Backhendl'' () version, a specialty of the
Viennese cuisine
Viennese cuisine is the cuisine of Vienna, Austria. While elements of it have spread throughout the country, other regions have their own variations of Austrian cuisine.
Viennese cuisine is known for Wiener schnitzel and pastries, but include ...
. The
Standard German
Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the umbrella term for the standard language, standardized varieties of the German language, which are used in formal contexts and for commun ...
term is ''Hähnchen'' ("cockerel"). In the
new states of Germany
The new states of Germany () are the five re-established states of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) that unified with the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) with its 10 "old states" upon German reunification on 3 October 1990.
Th ...
it is often called ''
Broiler
Breed broiler is any chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') that is bred and raised specifically for meat production. Most commercial broilers reach slaughter weight between four and six weeks of age, although slower growing breeds reach slaug ...
''.
Hendls are traditionally served in Bavarian
beer garden
A beer garden (German: ''Biergarten'') is an outdoor area in which beer and food are served, typically at shared tables shaded by trees.
Beer gardens originated in Bavaria, of which Munich is the capital city, in the 19th century, and remain co ...
s or at festivals such as
Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest (; ) is the world's largest , featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival, and is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, from mid- or late-September to the first Sunday in October. The annual event attracts more than seven milli ...
, and are generally eaten with
potato salad
Potato salad is a salad dish made from boiled potatoes, usually containing a dressing and a variety of other ingredients such as boiled eggs and raw vegetables. It is usually served as a side dish.
History and varieties
Potato salad is foun ...
or a ''
Breze'', possibly accompanied by a ''
Maß'' of
beer
Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...
. They are also widely available from mobile rotisserie trucks that park near well-frequented locations such as supermarkets or large parking lots.
Paprika Hendl (
paprika chicken) is mentioned in
Bram Stoker
Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912), better known by his pen name Bram Stoker, was an Irish novelist who wrote the 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. The book is widely considered a milestone in Vampire fiction, and one of t ...
's ''
Dracula
''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...
'', as a dish enjoyed by J. Harker who wishes to get the recipe for his wife-to-be, Mina.
Pollo asado or a la Brasa
Pollo a la brasa, also known as pollo asado, Peruvian chicken or Blackened chicken in the United States and charcoal chicken in Australia. The original version consisted of a chicken cooked in charcoal but the preparation has evolved and marinated meat is now roasted in the heat of the coals of a special oven called a ''rotombo'' which rotates the bird on its own axis, consistently receiving heat from the coals. The oven can be operated using coal, gas, or wood, with the more traditional wood being from the ''
Prosopis pallida'' tree.
Other varieties
Rotisserie chicken has become a growing trend in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
since the mid 1990s.
[Bonnie S. Benwick.]
The Bird that Goes Around, Stays Around.
''Washington Post.'' 30 October 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2014. American supermarkets commonly roast rotisserie chickens using either horizontal or vertical rotisseries. These chickens are a means of using unsold fresh chickens and are often sold at lower prices than fresh chickens. Wholesale club
Costco
Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box warehouse club retail stores. As of 2021, Costco is the third-largest retailer in the world, and as of August 2024, Cos ...
does not recycle fresh chickens but is noted for selling 60 million of its US$4.99 whole roasted chickens each year.
[ The Boston Market fast casual restaurant chain originally specialized in roast chicken.
]
Tandoori chicken is a dish popular on the Indian subcontinent consisting of chicken roasted in a cylindrical clay oven, a tandoor, and prepared with yogurt and spices.
The Levantine Arab shawarma
Shawarma (; ) is a Middle Eastern dish that originated in the Levant during the Ottoman Empire, consisting of meat that is cut into thin slices, stacked in an inverted cone, and roasted on a slow-turning vertical spit. Traditionally made with l ...
, Turkish döner kebap and Greek gyros can be made from a variety of meats, one of which is chicken. The Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
ese version of shawarma, ''shāwēimǎ'' (Chinese: 沙威瑪), is nearly always chicken.
Oven roasted chicken is often served in the United States for special family meals including holidays such as Rosh Hashanah, Christmas and sometimes Easter or Thanksgiving. Considered a "comfort food" by many, oven roasted chicken had a resurgence of popularity in the mid to late 1990s as more restaurants and recipe publishers started to refocus on classic American fare. The basic roasting process involves removing the neck and giblets from the cavity, trussing the bird and folding the wings underneath, seasoning the skin and/or cavity, and then placing the bird in a pre-heated oven. The bird should be basted regularly, and is considered done when a meat thermometer registers 170°F for white meat or 185°F for dark meat. It is commonly stuffed with oyster stuffing, chestnut stuffing or potato stuffing
The potato () is a starch#Food , starchy root vegetable, tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground Tuber#Stem tuber, stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tub ...
, or other varieties of stuffings.
Chicken under a brick is a manner of preparation in which the chicken is weighed down by a brick
A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...
or other heavy object.
See also
* Rotisserie chicken
* List of chicken dishes
This is a list of chicken dishes. Chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 year ...
* List of fast-food chicken restaurants
* List of spit-roasted foods
External links
*
References
{{Authority control
Chicken dishes
German cuisine
Austrian cuisine
Iftar foods
French cuisine
British cuisine
Spanish cuisine
Jewish cuisine
Christian cuisine
Christmas food