Roasting Times by Weight

A table of roasting times is useful and it is not a substitute for a thermometer. Use it to plan the meal; use the thermometer to decide when the bird comes out.

Whole bird, unstuffed

Times below assume a bird brought to room temperature for forty minutes, roasted at 200 °C for the first twenty minutes and 180 °C thereafter, in a conventional oven. Subtract twenty degrees throughout for a fan oven.

Weight	Total oven time	Then rest	Serves
1.2 kg	1 h 00 – 1 h 10	15 min	3
1.4 kg	1 h 10 – 1 h 20	20 min	3 – 4
1.6 kg	1 h 20 – 1 h 30	20 min	4
1.8 kg	1 h 30 – 1 h 40	20 min	4 – 5
2.0 kg	1 h 40 – 1 h 50	25 min	5 – 6
2.2 kg	1 h 50 – 2 h 05	25 min	6

The old rule — twenty minutes per 500 g plus twenty minutes — gives roughly these numbers and is a perfectly good way to plan. It is a poor way to decide.

Why weight alone is unreliable

Shape beats mass. Heat travels inward from every surface, so what matters is the distance from the outside to the centre. A wide, flat bird cooks faster than a compact one of identical weight, and the difference can be fifteen minutes.
Starting temperature matters more than most people think. A bird straight from the fridge at 4 °C needs perhaps twenty minutes longer than the same bird left out for forty minutes first — and it will be less evenly cooked at the end of it.
Ovens lie. A domestic oven ten degrees below its setting adds ten to fifteen minutes to a roast chicken. Most people have no idea which way theirs is out.
Stuffing changes everything. A stuffed cavity is a dense cold mass in the middle of the bird and it must reach a safe temperature itself. Add thirty to forty-five minutes and check the stuffing separately, or cook it in a dish alongside — which is better in every respect.

Other formats

Format	Oven	Time	Check at
Spatchcocked, 1.5 kg	220 °C	35 – 45 min	Thigh, 72 °C
Thighs, bone in	200 °C	35 – 40 min	Thigh, 75 °C
Drumsticks	200 °C	35 – 45 min	Thickest part, 75 °C
Wings	220 °C	35 – 40 min	Colour, not temperature
Breast, on the bone	200 °C	25 – 30 min	Centre, 65 °C
Breast, boneless	200 °C	16 – 20 min	Centre, 63 °C
Jointed bird, all eight	200 °C	Breasts out at 25 min, legs at 40	Both, separately

Planning backwards from the table

A 1.6 kg roast chicken for four, on the table at seven o'clock:

The day before, any time. Salt it and put it uncovered in the fridge.
4:45. Out of the fridge.
5:10. Oven on. Give it a full fifteen minutes past the beep.
5:25. Bird in, at 200 °C.
5:45. Down to 180 °C.
6:35. First temperature check. Expect 68 – 72 °C.
6:40. Out, onto a warm board, uncovered or loosely tented.
6:40 – 7:00. Gravy from the tin, vegetables finished, table laid.
7:00. Carve.

Whole bird, unstuffed

Why weight alone is unreliable

Other formats

Planning backwards from the table

Roast Chicken

Temperatures