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Times are a guide and ovens vary; the thermometer reading is what matters. Take the joint out of the fridge 30 to 60 minutes before cooking, and rest it loosely covered in foil before carving.
What The A Whole Chicken Cooking Time Calculator Works Out
- Cooking time: the standard UK guidance of 45 minutes per kilo plus 20 minutes at 180C fan. A typical 1.5kg supermarket bird needs about 1 hr 30 min, a 2kg bird about 1 hr 50 min, whether plain, buttered or covered in bacon.
- Safe temperature: chicken must always be cooked through: 75C in the thickest part of the thigh, juices running clear and no pink meat. Without a thermometer, pierce between leg and breast and check the juices. Rest the bird for at least 15 minutes.
- Resting time: the minimum rest before carving (15 minutes here). Resting lets the juices settle back through the meat, and a rested joint stays hot for far longer than you would expect, so it is part of the timing rather than extra.
- Target temperature: the internal reading in the thickest part, away from bone, that means the joint is done. The thermometer is the reliable test; the clock is only the plan.
- Serving-time plan: enter a time to eat and the calculator counts backwards through resting, cooking, preheating and the time out of the fridge, giving a clock time for each step.
- Oven type (advanced): the standard guidance is written for 180C fan; a conventional oven runs about 20C hotter for the same result (200C) and gas mark 6 is the equivalent. The time does not change, only the dial setting shown.
- Bone-in and stuffed (advanced): bone slows heat reaching the centre, so bone-in joints get about 10% longer; stuffing adds roughly 20 minutes (weigh a stuffed bird after stuffing). Both are rules of thumb, which is another reason to trust the thermometer.
- Serves and weight to buy (advanced): raw weight per person of about 450g boneless or 450g bone-in, so the calculator tells you how many a joint feeds and how big a joint to buy for your table.
- Take out of the oven at (advanced): red meat keeps cooking while it rests and rises around 4C, so pull it a few degrees under target. Poultry must reach the full 75C before it comes out; there is no carry-over allowance for chicken.
- Hot start (advanced): 25 minutes at 220C fan before turning down builds a crust on beef and lamb and is the standard route to pork crackling. Keep the overall time the same; the plan adds a "turn the oven down" step.
- Total from fridge to table (advanced): tempering time plus cooking plus resting, which is the figure to plan the day around. Times here are a guide; ovens vary, so check early rather than late.
Source and further reading: Food Standards Agency: cooking safely.