Roast Chicken Legs with Potatoes and Carrots
Chicken legs roasted over potatoes, carrots and onions until the skin is golden and the vegetables caramelize at the edges. The pan juices soak into the potatoes, so every bite tastes of thyme and garlic.
- Total
- 108 min
- Prep 20 · Cook 78 · Rest 10
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Roasting · Basting
- Savory
- Oven
- One pan
Instructions
-
Heat the oven to 210°C. Cut the potatoes into 3 cm chunks, the carrots into 3 cm lengths, and the onion into 8 wedges. Peel the garlic cloves and leave them whole.
~15 min
Cutting vegetables into uniform 3 cm pieces ensures they cook at the same rate and finish together.
Cut the potatoes and carrots to the same 3 cm size so they finish at the same time as the chicken instead of turning to mush.
-
Put the potatoes, carrots, onion and garlic in the roasting pan. Add 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt, 0.25 tsp black pepper and 1.5 tsp thyme. Toss with your hands until every piece is coated, then spread everything in a single layer.
~5 min
Coating vegetables in oil and seasoning before roasting helps them caramelize and absorb flavor evenly.
-
Pat the chicken legs dry with paper towel. Rub them with the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil, 0.5 tsp salt, 0.25 tsp black pepper and 0.5 tsp thyme. Nestle the legs skin side up among the vegetables and pour 100 ml water into the corner of the pan.
~8 min
Drying the chicken skin and rubbing with oil promotes crisping; water in the pan creates steam early on to keep vegetables moist.
-
Roast uncovered for 40 minutes. The vegetables should be starting to brown at the edges and the chicken skin should be turning golden.
~40 min
Roasting Roast at high heat for golden skin and caramelized edges. Avoid crowding the pan so vegetables brown, not steam.
-
Baste the chicken with the pan juices and turn the vegetables once so they colour evenly. Roast another 25 to 30 minutes, until the chicken reaches 74°C at the thickest part of the thigh and the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife.
~30 min
Basting adds flavor and moisture; turning vegetables ensures even browning; cooking to 74°C ensures safety.
If the vegetables brown faster than the chicken, lay a sheet of aluminium foil loosely over the pan for the last 15 minutes; the chicken keeps cooking while the vegetables stop colouring.
Roasting Roast at high heat for golden skin and caramelized edges. Avoid crowding the pan so vegetables brown, not steam.
Basting Spoon pan juices over the chicken to keep it moist and build flavor. Baste quickly to avoid losing oven heat.
-
Move the chicken and vegetables to a warm plate. Tilt the pan and spoon off the clear fat, leaving the darker juices. Spoon those juices over the chicken and vegetables, then rest 10 minutes before serving.
~10 min
Resting allows juices to redistribute so the meat stays moist when carved.