How long will a 1.6kg chicken take in the oven?

[fiju]

I've butterflied a whole chicken and I'm getting mixed answers as to temperature and cooking time. The weight is 1.6kg or just slightly over.

Oh and I don't have any sort of thermometer. Every Google result seems to assume everyone has a meat thermometer lying around...

Edited by fiju on Sunday 19th July 18:37

[21TonyK]

By butterfly I am assuming you mean spatchcocked a whole chicken.

I would preheat your oven to 240 and whack it in for about 15 mins then turn down to 160.

After about another 45 mins it should be cooked safely/slightly overcooked unless you have a weird shaped chicken.

[fiju]

Nice thanks! Yes spatchcocked.

Why 240 and then down to 160?

[Budflicker]

fiju said:

Nice thanks!

Why 240 and then down to 160?

Crispy skin

[fiju]

I've got it sitting on a bed of vegetables. Will that be OK or will they burn at 240?

[anonymous-user]

Won't the veg go a bit crappy with all the fat that's going to run out of the chicken? Also, beware of drying out the meat in search of crispy skin. You could always take the skin off and cook it on its own, allowing you to cover the chicken/veg in foil to retain moisture.

[fiju]

I tried this last time with a smaller pre-prepared chicken that came with cooking instructions. That went in at 160 for 45 mins. The veg came out spot on (well to my liking at least).

OK so 1 hour at 160 for this one?

[Mobile Chicane]

Get a thermometer and remove the guesswork. No need to mess about with expensive 'Thermapens', a cheaper one will do as good a job:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Comark-PDQ400-Accuracy-Di...