Crispy roast chicken and autumn vegetables: the fan oven, grill and probe method
Golden, crackling skin, juicy meat, vegetables confit in the juices: Sunday roast chicken is no great mystery. With fan-assisted heat, a blast of grill at the end and, if your oven has one, a temperature probe, you'll get it right every time.
- 4 to 5 people, a chicken of 1.6 to 1.8 kg
- Fan oven 190 °C, about 1 h 15
- Meat probe: 75 °C at the core in the thigh
- 5 to 8 min of fan grill for the skin
Appliance and settingOven, fan 190 °C then grill, meat probe
Ingredients
The secret to a successful roast chicken
A successful roast chicken is a balancing act: crispy skin, which needs high heat, and juicy meat, which doesn't cope well with overcooking. The fan-assisted (the fan circulates the hot air) browns the bird evenly on all sides. The meat probe (a thermometer inserted into the meat and linked to the oven) stops cooking at just the right moment. And a spell under the grill at the end of cooking gives it the final touch.
The steps
- Take the chicken out in advance. An hour before, take it out of the fridge and pat the skin dry thoroughly with kitchen paper, inside and out.
- Prepare the vegetables. Wash the potatoes (keep the skin on), peel the carrots and parsnips and cut them into 4 cm chunks, and quarter the onions. Toss them in the roasting tin with the oil, salt, pepper, half the thyme and the water.
- Prepare the chicken. Preheat the oven to 190 °C fan. Put the halved lemon, half the crushed garlic cloves and the rosemary inside the cavity. Rub the whole skin with the softened butter, season generously with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together.
- Insert the probe. If your oven has one, insert it into the thickest part of the thigh, without touching the bone, and set the core temperature to 75 °C.
- Put it in the oven. Place the chicken on the rack at shelf 2 (counting from the bottom), with the vegetable tin directly below on shelf 1. Add the remaining garlic in its skin around the vegetables.
- Cook and baste. Allow about 1 h 10 to 1 h 20 for a 1.7 kg chicken. Baste once halfway through with the juices from the roasting tin and stir the vegetables.
- The final grill. When the probe reads about 70 °C (or 10 minutes before the end), switch to fan grill at 220 °C for 5 to 8 minutes, until the skin is golden and crispy.
- Let it rest. Take the chicken out, cover it loosely with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes before carving. Keep the vegetables warm in the switched-off oven.
Appliance settings
| Step | Fashion | Setting | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main cooking | Fan oven | 190 °C, chicken on shelf 2, roasting tin on shelf 1 | 1 h 10 to 1 h 20 |
| Main cooking (no fan) | Conventional (top and bottom heat) | 210 °C | 1 h 15 to 1 h 25 |
| Doneness check | Cooking probe | 75 °C at the core, in the thigh | Automatic shut-off or alert |
| Crispy skin | Fan grill (turbo grill) | 220 °C | 5 to 8 min |
| Resting | Oven off, door ajar | Under foil | 10 min |
| Juicy variation | Fan oven with steam assist | 180 °C, a few bursts of steam at the start | 1 h 10 to 1 h 20 |
Names vary by brand: the fan oven is called “Hotair 3D” at Bosch, “air pulsé 3D” at Siemens, “Twin Convection” at Samsung, “chaleur pulsée” at Beko or Whirlpool. The symbol is almost always a fan inside a circle.
Variations
- With beer : replace the water in the roasting tin with 20 cl of Belgian blonde beer and add a few shallots.
- With red kuri squash : wedges of unpeeled red kuri squash instead of parsnips, to be added after 30 minutes.
- Spatchcocked : chicken opened out flat (ask your butcher), cooked for 50 to 55 minutes at 200 °C in fan oven. Quicker, and the skin browns even better.
- With herbs under the skin : slip a butter mixed with garlic and chopped parsley under the skin of the breast.
Storage
Roast chicken keeps 3 days in the fridge, carved, in a sealed container. The leftovers make delicious sandwiches, salads or a homemade vol-au-vent. The carcass makes an excellent stock: cover it with water with an onion and a carrot, and simmer for 1 h 30 on shelf 2 of the hob.
The cooking probe is the piece of kit I most often recommend to home cooks who love roasts. It stops the chicken drying out and the beef overcooking, without opening the door every ten minutes. If your oven doesn't have one, a stick-in kitchen thermometer does exactly the same job for a few euros.
Which appliance?
For roasts, three advantages: an even fan heat, a fan grill and, ideally, a meat probe built-in one.
An oven with a cooking probe
Siemens HB774G2B1 (iQ700, cooking probe, CookControl Pro, Home Connect), Samsung NV7B45502AB (probe included, Dual Cook Flex, steam), Hisense BSA66334PX and BSA66334PBDG (probe, assisted steam and AirFry).
From 599,99 € to 1 229,99 €
A pyrolytic fan oven
Roast chicken means grease splatter: pyrolysis burns it away. Examples: Bosch HBA274BB3F (Série 4, Hotair 3D), Whirlpool WOI68PT1SXAF (6ème Sens and AirFry).
809,99 € and 1 049,99 €
Public prices recorded on 15 October 2026: the product page is the reference, and Nimesclub members often get a reduced price. Check on the product page whether the probe is supplied with the oven.
Ovens with probe and fan heat in store
SIEMENS HB774G2B1 Built-in Oven€1,229.00
Built-in Oven SAMSUNG NV7B45502AB€1,079.00
Built-in oven HISENSE BSA66334PX€599.00
Built-in Oven HISENSE BSA66334PBDG€849.00
Built-in Oven BOSCH HBA274BB3F€809.00
Built-in oven WHIRLPOOL WOI68PT1SXAF€1,049.00Fan heat, fan grill, probe: all these modes are explained in our guide to oven functions. For a lighter meal, try the steamed salmon and its vegetables, and for a starter, a butternut squash soup.
Frequently asked questions
What core temperature for a roast chicken?
Aim for around 75 °C in the thickest part of the thigh, without touching the bone. At this point, the juices that run when you pierce the thigh are clear, with no pinkness. The temperature rises a few more degrees during resting.
My oven doesn't have a probe: how do I know if the chicken is cooked?
Allow about 20 minutes per 500 g plus 15 minutes at 190 °C in fan oven, then pierce the thigh at its thickest point: the juices should run clear. A stick-in kitchen thermometer costs little and does the same job as a probe.
Should you baste the chicken during cooking?
Once or twice, yes, for flavour. But every time you open the door the temperature drops: baste quickly, and not during the final grill, or the skin will go soft.
The right oven makes all the difference
Steam ovens, pyrolytic ovens, induction hobs: come and see them at our Temploux store, or ask our expert salesperson for advice.
Read next
Cooking tipOven modes explained: fan, bottom heat, grill, steam, air fry… when to use whatA fan, two lines, a drop, a little grid: the symbols on your oven aren't there just for decoration. Each mode heats differently and suits particular dishes. Here is the complete guide, mode by mode, with a large chart so you can finally know what to choose.7 min read
RecipeSteamed salmon and autumn vegetables: in a steam oven, with assisted steam or en papilloteA pearly salmon fillet, vegetables still crisp, a little lemony sauce: a light supper, ready in thirty minutes. Whether your oven produces true steam, assisted steam or none of the above, here are the right settings, plus en papillote for everyone.40 min · Easy · Serves 4
RecipePumpkin or butternut squash soup: velvety, in 40 minutes on inductionOrange, sweet, velvety: squash soup is the queen of October evenings. On an induction hob, it's ready in forty minutes, and a tip in the oven gives it an incomparable roasted flavour. Here's the basic recipe, the right settings and our variations.45 min · Very easy · 6 servings