Roast chicken is more delicious with 1 unexpected ingredient added before cooking

There's a way to make roast chicken taste even better when it comes out of the oven and it is by using one unexpected ingredient before it's cooked.

By Brian Dillon, Audience Writer

19:48, Tue, May 6, 2025 | UPDATED: 19:48, Tue, May 6, 2025

Preparing Roasted Chicken with Root Vegetables in Domestic Kitchen

Roast chicken can be made more tasty with one simple trick. (Image: Getty)

A hack for making the taste of roast chicken even better involves using an ingredient that you probably will have never guessed. Roast chicken is a staple for British dinners all year round and is normally enjoyed as part of a Sunday roast. There are plenty of classic and traditional methods and ingredients used to make a roast chicken juicy and delicious, but there are also more uncoventional ways to do so.

One TikTok user has shown how she uses curry powder to cook her roast chicken, something she says makes it even more delicious. The video creator, who has the username Lelolemons, shared a clip of her clever roast chicken hack and received over 150,000 views in just two days. In the viral clip, she explains how the recipe is "so easy to follow" and that it results in "the most tender and juicy chicken". Using curry powder, garlic, butter and other ingredients, she prepares a roast chicken that has left many mouths watering, with the video receiving thousands of likes and being saved thousands of times.

She first mixes curry powder and garlic with butter to create a tasty curry butter. She then places a generous amount of that under the skin all over the chicken.

She also coats the outside of the chicken with more curry butter and drizzles olive oil over it before seasoning it with salt and pepper. Then, she stuffs the cavaty of the chicken with two lemon halves.

In an oven that has been preheated to 170C, she cooks the roast chicken for 80 to 90 minutes and advises that you adjust this for the chicken’s weight, as a heavier chicken will take longer.

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@lelo_lemons
The best roast chicken Recipe - My Curried garlic Butter Roast Chicken with Baked Rice Homemade Curried garlic Butter: * 75g real butter * 1 tbsp medium curry powder * 23 cloves garlic, grated * Pinch of fresh parsley Cooking Instructions: Heat the oven to 170°C. Prepare a shelf in the middle of the oven without any shelves above it. Place 45 halved onions in the base of the roasting dish, leaving the ends intact to hold them together. Use a spoon to separate the skin from the chicken breasts and massage curried butter under the skin. Coat the outside generously with more garlic butter, then drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Liberally season the cavity of the chicken with salt and pepper, then stuff it with 2 lemon halves. Roast for 8090 minutes, adjusting for the chickens weight (refer to cooking instructions on the packaging). After 5060 minutes, add sliced aubergine and courgette to the roasting dish, tossing them gently in the cooking juices. Continue roasting for the final 30 minutes, allowing the vegetables to soften and absorb the flavors. Baste the chicken every 20 minutes for the best results. Baked Rice Instructions: Remove the cooked chicken from the oven, cover it with foil, and let it rest. Increase the oven temperature to 200°C (fan). Discard the outer layer of the onions in the roasting dish. Pour 1 cup of basmati rice into the dish and mix it with the cooking juices, roasted onions, aubergine, and courgette. Add 2 cups of boiling water and stir well. Cover and return the dish to the oven for 20 minutes, until the rice is fully cooked and the vegetables are tender. For a crispier texture, uncover the dish and bake for an additional 5 minutes. #foodtok #irishfood #sundayroast #roastchicken #sundaylunch #food
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"After 50–60 minutes, add sliced aubergine and courgette to the roasting dish, tossing them gently in the cooking juices," the TikTok cook advises. "After 50–60 minutes, add sliced aubergine and courgette to the roasting dish, tossing them gently in the cooking juices."

For the garlic butter, which is the stand-out ingredient in this recipe, she uses 75g real butter, 1 tbsp medium curry powder, 2 or 3 grated cloves of garlic and a pinch of parsley.

"Another key tip is to let your chicken rest," she adds. "Cover it with foil and leave it for at least 20 minutes."