This classic Czech roast chicken is another fairly easy, but effective recipe. It comes from my family and represents what we would usually have for Sunday roast, and often also for our family celebrations and parties organised at home.
The way this chicken is roasted creates a crispy skin on top and keeps all of the juices inside, whilst it's literally falling off the bone.
And the fact that it can be served with almost any side dish is just another reason to love it, isn't it?
Personally, I prefer to roast chicken legs rather than a whole chicken. It's easier for manipulation during cooking and for serving, but feel free to apply this recipe to cooking the whole bird.
📖 The Recipe
Classic Czech roast chicken
A classic Czech recipe for roast chicken. Follow this recipe and find out how to cook delicious juicy chicken legs with crispy skin on top.
Ingredients
- 1,2 kg chicken quarter legs, or chicken tights, skin on (chilled and fully defrosted)
- 3 teaspoon paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground caraway seeds
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
To thicken the gravy (optional)
- 1 tablespoon plain (all-purpose) flour
- 50 ml water
Instructions
- Boil about 500ml of water in a kettle. Preheat the oven to 190C/fan 170C.
- Mix all seasonings in a small bowl. This is to prevent any contact with the chicken and other surfaces that you touch with your hands when seasoning it.
- Prepare the chicken: Clean the skin by removing any remaining feathers.
- Place the chicken legs in a deep ovenproof dish (preferably with a lid, or use aluminum foil as a cover later), upside down. Rub some of the seasonings into the bottom parts. Turn the chicken legs around and rub the spices onto the skin, so it's fully coated with the paprika and caraway seed mix.
- Wash your hands and then pour some of the boiling water between the portions of the chicken, about 0,7 cm high.
- Cover with a lid and put in the oven. Set your timer for 90mins.
- After 90mins, take the whole dish out. Take the lid off and pour some of the juices over the chicken, using a big serving spoon (ovenproof). When all pieces of the chicken are covered, put it back in the oven, uncovered.
- Repeat the last step about 2-3 times every 15mins.
- Take out of the oven, leave to rest for about 10 minutes (covered) and serve with a side dish and salad of your choice.
Thicken the gravy (optional):
- Using a large serving spoon, carefully transfer the gravy out of the roasting dish into a saucepan.
- In a small glass or a mug, mix together plain flour and water and stir with a fork until you get a smooth, cream-like texture.
- Set the saucepan with gravy on medium-high heat and bring to boil. Add the flour mix and keep stirring until the gravy is thick enough. Leave to simmer for 5 minutes and serve.
Notes
This roast chicken goes well with boiled potatoes, potato mash, rice, pasta salad, potato salad, or other vegetable salad.
Nutritional Information (Estimates Only)
Calories: 380kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 159mg | Sodium: 436mg | Potassium: 397mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 900IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was! Give a star rating if you enjoyed it, this helps other readers who are looking for recipes like this!
Alison
Looks delicious ..the chicken in Australia has so much water in it anyway ..I wonder if I need to put the boiling water in as well
Missy
I took a whole chicken spatch, cooked it (removed backbone and butterfly) Sprinkled your seasoning liberally under skin and on top – roasted on a rack 450F for 40 minutes. It was the best roast chicken ever! I never thought of putting caraway on chicken before?? Loved it! Love,love loved it!
Markie
Thanks so much Missy, I'm glad you enjoyed it! That spice mix just goes perfectly with chicken! 🙂
Country Girl in London
Thank you Alison. I find this way of roasting a little bit healthier, as the boiling water does most of the cooking (steaming), then you roast it uncovered to get some color and crispy skin.
The chicken here in the UK is very fatty in my opinion (at least supermarket ones). I know it sounds strange, but there is always this huge 'fat stain' in the gravy.
Let me know if it was better, if you gonna try it!
Scott
This is the greatest chicken I have ever eaten and is ridiculously simple to make. I can’t believe I’ve lived this long without making it. I’ve been robbed all my life! 😂
I used a ceramic coated iron Dutch oven. Replaced the 500ml water with 500ml chicken stock from a previous day chicken roast. Used 4 tsp Hungarian Paprika and 3 tsp whole caraway seeds. Baked for 90 minutes covered, 10 minutes uncovered two times with pouring juices over between. During the rest period I probably did it another 4 times and almost all the juice was reincorporated into the chicken.
Add 500ml more of the previous stock after removing the chicken with 3 tablespoons of corn starch instead of flour. Everything bonded perfectly in the gravy. No pooling.
Markie
Thanks, Scott, happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! 😉