Roast chicken
A globally prepared dish of chicken roasted with its own juices.
Roast chicken is a dish made by cooking the bird through roasting, which can be done in a home kitchen, over an open fire, or using a rotisserie spit. The cooking process typically relies on the chicken’s own fat and juices, which are circulated as the meat rotates, often exposed directly to heat or flame via some kind of rotary grill to maximize that circulation. This preparation appears in many cuisines around the world.
In Austro-Bavarian regions, the term *Hendl* refers to chicken, most commonly roasted as *Brathendl*. Another variant is *Backhendl*, a fried Viennese specialty. Standard German uses *Hähnchen* for cockerel, while in eastern Germany it is often called *Broiler*. These roasted chickens are traditionally served in Bavarian beer gardens or at festivals like Oktoberfest, typically with potato salad or a *Breze*, and often accompanied by a *Maß* of beer. Mobile rotisserie trucks also sell them near supermarkets or large parking lots. *Paprika Hendl* appears in Bram Stoker’s *Dracula* as a dish noted in Jonathan Harker’s journal.
*Pollo a la brasa*, also known as *pollo asado*, Peruvian chicken, or charcoal chicken in Australia, originally involved cooking a chicken over charcoal. The modern version uses marinated meat roasted in the heat of coals inside a special rotisserie oven, which rotates the bird on its own axis for even heat. This oven can be fueled by coal, gas, or wood, with the more traditional wood coming from the *Prosopis pallida* tree.
Rotisserie chicken has become increasingly popular in the United States since the mid-1990s. American supermarkets often roast these chickens using horizontal or vertical rotisseries, typically as a way to use unsold fresh chickens, and they are frequently sold at lower prices than fresh birds. Wholesale club Costco does not recycle fresh chickens but is known for selling 60 million of its $4.99 whole roasted chickens each year. The fast-casual chain Boston Market originally specialized in roast chicken.
Tandoori chicken is a popular dish on the Indian subcontinent, made by roasting chicken in a cylindrical clay oven called a *tandoor*, prepared with yogurt and spices. The Levantine Arab *shawarma*, Turkish *döner kebab*, and Greek *gyros* can all be made from chicken, among other meats. The Taiwanese version of *shawar
- field
- Culinary dish
- known_for
- A dish prepared by roasting chicken, often with its own fats and juices, using rotary or spit methods
- varieties
- Hendl, Pollo a la brasa, Rotisserie chicken, Tandoori chicken, Shawarma, Oven roasted chicken, Chicken under a brick
Lore & Background
Roast chicken has many regional varieties. In Austro-Bavarian cuisine, Hendl (Brathendl) is traditionally served in beer gardens or at festivals such as Oktoberfest, often with potato salad or a Breze and a Maß of beer. Paprika Hendl is mentioned in Bram Stoker's Dracula as a dish noted in Jonathan Harker's journal. Pollo a la brasa, also known as pollo asado or Peruvian chicken, originally used charcoal but now often uses a rotisserie oven that rotates the bird on its axis, heated by coal, gas, or wood from the Prosopis pallida tree.
Reader's Guide
Roast chicken is significant as a dish that appears in many cuisines worldwide, with preparation methods ranging from home ovens to rotisserie trucks. In the United States, rotisserie chicken became a growing trend from the mid 1990s, with supermarkets using unsold fresh chickens and selling them at lower prices; Costco sells 60 million of its US$4.99 whole roasted chickens each year. Oven roasted chicken is often served for special family meals and holidays such as Rosh Hashanah, Christmas, and sometimes Easter or Thanksgiving, and is considered a comfort food. The basic roasting process involves removing neck and giblets, trussing, seasoning, and roasting until internal temperatures reach 170 °F for white meat or 185 °F for dark meat. Other notable varieties include tandoori chicken from the Indian subcontinent, chicken shawarma in Levantine and Taiwanese cuisines, and chicken under a brick.
Did You Know?
- Roast chicken is generally cooked exposed to fire or heat with some type of rotary grill to efficiently circulate fats and juices.
- In the new states of Germany, roast chicken is often called Broiler.
- Pollo a la brasa can be cooked using wood from the Prosopis pallida tree.
- Costco sells 60 million of its US$4.99 whole roasted chickens each year.
More in New Zealand cuisine 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record