An oven-safe rack to lift the chickenallowing hot air to surround each piece
Cooking spray for the rack to assist with cleanupoptional
Aluminum foil or parchment paperwe are fans of these pop-up sheets from Reynolds
Oven-safe baking sheet to set your chicken pieces on
Kitchen tongs
Cutting board
Knifebutter, paring, steak, whatever—just something to split the meat to check that your largest piece is heated through. Even two forks would work.
Plate or platter
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Remove the chicken from the container and lay the pieces on a platter and leave it at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Heating cold meat can affect both the crispiness of the outside and the tenderness of the inside, so getting this to room temp is important. It applies to other raw cuts of meat, too, FYI.
Cover the baking sheet with foil, set aside. Spray the rack, then set the rack on the foil. Place the chicken pieces on the rack, with no sides touching each other.
Place pan with chicken in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Don't open the door to check on it in the first 10 minutes. Keep in mind that breasts and thighs will take longer to heat through than wings and drums. You don't want the coating to go too dark, so after 10 minutes, reduce heat to 325F if they are getting too brown.
Use the tongs to pull off a piece onto your cutting board and cut into it. It may not be as juicy as day-one, but it should be hot all the way to the bone.
Remove the baking rack and use the tongs to transfer all of the chicken to the plate. Let cool for 4 minutes, so you can handle the meat without burning your fingers.