Pizza ovens are an excellent tool for any cook as to the versatility of what you can cook in them. This versatile oven can slow cook meats and will create the moistest, mouth-watering roasted chicken you can eat.
Are you entertaining the idea of buying a pizza oven, or even just thinking about new ways to use one you already have? The rest of this article will explain how you can roast a chicken in a pizza oven!
What is a Pizza Oven?
Before we get into how to cook a roast chicken in a pizza oven, we must first make sure that you know what a pizza oven is.
A pizza oven is usually a built-in or freestanding oven traditionally used to bake pizzas. They are generally round in shape and, most of the time, wood-fired. A pizza oven is often made from stone and then heated by gas, an electric burner, or the traditional wood fire.
Pizza ovens make beautiful, bubbly pizzas and keep themselves hot for a long time. Pizza ovens can retain heat for long enough to cook low-temperature foods for about 24 hours.
What Can You Cook in a Pizza Oven?
Pizza ovens are incredibly versatile and can be used to cook so many delicious meals to share with your friends and family.
Pizza ovens can make roasted veggies, jacket potatoes, fresh bread, seafood, and roasted chicken! They’re great for slow-cooked meats and even barbecue.
What Temperature Should be Used to Cook Meats in a Pizza Oven?
When cooking meats in a pizza oven, you should ensure that your oven is at about 600ºF- 400ºF. This temperature is lower than you would use to cook pizza but higher than you’d use for traditional baking.
If you wish to have an exact temperature for roasting chicken, try to get your oven to a steady 500ºF
The temperature is critical and can be used to sear meats and brown veggies. Most importantly, this temperature will also cook your meat thoroughly.
Before you cook your roast chicken, bring the temperature of the pizza oven up to around 700ºF, and wait for it to drop to the desired temperature.
If the pizza oven is a traditional wood-fired pizza oven, allow the fire to burn down. Once this has happened, push the coals to one side before cooking your chicken.
Using the Descending Temperature
Your pizza oven should fall to about 550ºF an hour after it reaches full heat; this is the perfect temperature to cook your chicken.
At first, the oven will sear and brown your chicken, and then it will continue to drop in temperature. Ensuring your chicken is cooked, moist, and beautifully browned on the outside.
How to Know When to Start Cooking Your Roast Chicken
Sometimes you may find it hard to accurately know when you should start to cook your roast chicken.
If you are using a traditional wood-fired pizza oven, you should make sure that there are no visible black spots on the dome of your oven. In addition, there should be a medium-sized bed of coals gathered to the size, and there should only be a flame of about 2-4 inches high.
Suppose you need a higher temperature for a more extended period of time. In that case, you may add wood as necessary to regulate the heat.
If you are cooking food that requires a short roasting time of under an hour, you can leave the door off your pizza oven.
However, suppose you are cooking something that requires a more extended roasting period. In that case, you can position the door on the inside of the arch opening. Helping regulate heat, keeping it hot for a more extended period of time.
How Long Does it Take to Cook a Roasted Chicken?
The time it will take to cook a roasted chicken thoroughly depends on the temperature of your pizza oven. Usually, cooking a three-pound chicken will take about 45 minutes to cook all the way through.
Preparing Your Chicken
Before you cook your chicken, you should make sure that it is well prepared. First, rinse your chicken with cold water, ensuring that the center cavity is thoroughly rinsed and dried.
After, place your chicken on paper towels for a couple of minutes; this allows the chicken to drain and dry while preparing everything else.
One of the best ways to prepare a roast chicken is with veggies. First, cut up any veggies you would like to cook with your chicken, including carrots, celery, and onions.
Then, season the middle cavity of your chicken before placing the veggies inside with fresh herbs, like rosemary and thyme. Lemon and garlic cloves also make for a beautiful, tasty addition.
After you have prepared the inside of your roasted chicken, tie your chicken legs together with butcher’s twine.
If you do not have butcher’s twine, you can create a small incision in the skin, right between the thigh and the end of the breast. Then, cross the chicken’s legs before stretching the skin over the knuckle of the opposite leg.
After this, you can place any remaining veggies in the roasting pan. Use any dish for cooking your chicken, as long as it is oven safe. However, a cast-iron skillet is one of the best pans to cook roasted chicken.
Place your chicken on top of the veggies in the pan. Then drizzle with olive oil and your mix of herbs such as rosemary and thyme. Add salt and pepper and ensure the oil is massaged over the chicken.
Your chicken is now ready to be cooked in your pizza oven.
Cooking Your Roasted Chicken in Your Pizza Oven
Once your chicken is ready to go into your pizza oven, you can place the pan in the middle of the oven, the breast meat facing the fire. Once done, you can close the door to your pizza oven.
After about 15-20 minutes, you can rotate the pan to cook your chicken evenly. If you are cooking your roasted chicken in a Dutch oven, you can even add a lid at this point.
Check your chicken routinely every couple of minutes by sticking a thermometer into the thickest part of your roasted chicken’s thigh. The internal temperature of your roasted chicken should be about 165ºF.
You should also pay attention to what color the liquid coming out of your chicken is during this time. Your chicken should be ready to take out if the liquid is clear. If the liquid is pink, it may need another couple of minutes to cook!
It can be removed and left to rest on a warm surface for about five minutes when cooked. After that, it can be removed from the pan and placed on your desired surface for cutting.
Temperatures Needed to Cook Meats in a Pizza Oven
Roasted chicken is delicious, but there are so many other meats that you can cook in a pizza oven, too!
Here are some of the temperature guidelines you should use when cooking meats in a pizza oven.
550ºF
Roast chicken (if using foil), chicken fricassee, turkey (if using foil), roast fish
500ºF
Roast chicken, turkey roll, and chicken Diavolo
400ºF
Beef roast, leg of lamb
350ºF
Fresh pork
Things To Consider
When cooking anything in your pizza oven, it’s important to remember that the oven floor will likely be much cooler than the rest of the oven.
Since pizza ovens retain heat for long periods, you should often check the temperature since you can cook multiple dishes at once.
When cooking meat in a pizza oven, you should cook them on top of a dish- even just veggies- so that the dish underneath can catch the beautiful juices.
Sometimes it takes a couple of tries to find what works best for you and your oven. Try moving your meat around your pizza oven to get the best results.
Final Thoughts
If you love kitchen gadgets, pizza ovens are one of the best investments in cooking. As well as making fantastic pizza, there is such a wide variety of foods you can cook in it, like veggies and meats!
Pizza ovens are versatile and hold heat for long periods, making them great for all-day cooking.
Cooking a delicious roasted chicken in your pizza oven is simple. It can take you no time if you get the temperature right. You can even cook side dishes and bread in the same oven, which are great additions to your meal.
