Learn how to bake chicken , and you ’ll always have something elementary and satisfying to bring to the table .

Do n’t you just love the mother wit of achievement you feel serving up a ship’s boat , juicy baked chicken recipe for dinner party ? It sure enough beat biting into overcooked , dry chicken .

To assure you never suffer ironical chicken again ( at least , not when you ’re in charge of the cooking ) , we compiled our Test Kitchen cognition on :

Best Oven-Barbecued Chicken

Credit: Blaine Moats

If you follow our Test Kitchen ’s instructions , every piece of chicken you make will be moist and delicious every time .

How to Bake Chicken Pieces

Most baked chicken recipes call forchicken breasts , thighs , or drumsticks , not necessarily a whole bird . Prep and bake chicken for a hands - free entrée , and while it ’s bake , whip up aveggie side smasher .

Step 1: Prepare the Chicken Pieces

Arrange poulet piece , bone sides down ( if using pearl - in excision ) , in a undivided layer in a 15x10x1 - inch bake pan orshallow roasting pan . Brush wimp pieces with oil and season to taste with salt and pepper . If want , dust the pieces with your favorite snag orcrushed dry herb . If you like , brush chicken while with barbecue sauce in the last 10 to 20 minutes of the cook metre .

Step 2: Bake Chicken Breast, Legs, and Thighs at 375°F

Forbaked chicken recipesmade with meaty chicken slice such as breast halves , drumstick , and thighs , preheat the oven to 375 ° F . Bake the chicken small-arm , uncovered , for 45 to 55 minutes or until the internal temperaturemeasured with a meat thermometerreaches these temperature :

Use the 45- to 55 - minute guideline for all your Gallus gallus part , but check the inner temp to halt baking before they get overcooked . How long you ’ll broil a poulet breast at 375 ° F will variegate depending on whether it ’s osseous tissue - in or boneless , so use a meat thermometer for the net say .

service baked chicken immediately and refrigerate leftover within 2 hours .

baked chicken thighs

Credit:Grant Webster

Grant Webster

How to Store Baked Chicken

If you have remnant from yourbaked chicken recipeor you ’re getting aheadstart on future meals , you could store them for later . storage cooked chicken in anairtight containerin the refrigerator for up to 3 twenty-four hours . Freeze the chicken if you ’ll be using it later than 3 days after cooking it .

To freeze baked chicken :

How to Bake a Whole Chicken

Awhole baked chickennever fails to impress with its crisp , overpoweringly golden - brown pelt and moist , succulent meat . It ’s one of the easiest entrées you could bring to the tabular array , and a whole baked chicken liberally serves four .

Step 1: Prepare the Chicken

Step 2: Bake the Chicken

Put the chicken in the roasting pan and put it into an oven preheated to 375 ° farad . Bake chicken uncovered . Cooking times vary by weighting and by recipe , but in worldwide , follow these guideline on how long to bake a whole poulet :

You ’ll know your whole chicken is done when the juices run readable , the chicken is no longer pink , and the drumstick move easily in their sockets . However , do n’t rely on those test alone . Always test the doneness by put in a nitty-gritty thermometer into the thickest part of the second joint ( the thermometer should not touch bone ) . The thermometer should reach 175 ° F . to boot , the temperature of the chicken breast should be 170 ° F .

Step 3: Let Chicken Stand, Then Carve

When the safe inner temperature is reached , remove from the oven , cover the bird with foil and let it rest for 15 minutes . This will help the juices redistribute throughout for moist , fond meat . cut up and serve .

Baked Gallus gallus recipes ( as pieces or a whole bird ) are as simple to make as preparation and bake . You never have to worry about cover poulet while baking , as it ’s o.k. to broil it expose . Once your chicken is in the oven , it ’s hands - liberal until you need to check the temperature . Then , you may whip up Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims - Captain James Cook appetizer , vegetable orpotato side dish , ordessert if you ’re feeling ambitious .

Herb-Roasted Chicken

Credit: Peter Krumhardt

meat thermometer roasted chicken

Credit: Jason Donnelly