We struggle to find a chicken big enough to feed all the family, and we’re not keen on turkey. If I want to roast two birds in the same oven, does this affect the cooking time?
Mary, United Kingdom
If your oven is large enough to hold two chickens in a big roasting tray, you can absolutely roast them at the same time. But I wouldn’t recommend roasting them in different pans on different shelves, because there won’t be enough air to circulate.

To ensure complete control, however, invest in a meat thermometer, and buy birds of a similar size, so they cook in the same time. Put the birds side by side in the tray, then roast in a really hot oven – 240C (220C fan)/475F/gas 9 – for 20-30 minutes; if the chickens are touching, turn one of them the other way around halfway through.

Once the chickens are golden on top – depending on the size of your oven, this could take up to 45 minutes – turn down the heat to 170C (150C fan)/340F/gas 3½ and cook for another 20-40 minutes, until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the thigh reads 68C. Take the birds out of the oven to rest for 20-30 minutes, and they will carry on cooking and eventually reach 75C. If there is a lot of steam in the oven during cooking, carefully open the door a few times to release it. (One other way to reduce a buildup of steam is to roast any other bits and pieces before you cook the chicken and reheat them while it’s resting.) If you don’t have a thermometer, insert the tip of a sharp knife into the thickest part of one thigh – if the juices run clear, it’s done.

Another option, when cooking chicken for a crowd, is to go for something along the lines of a chicken and rice salad, which makes a single chicken go an awfully long way, or a traybake of the thighs, legs and supremes. That way, all the space in the tray is taken up by just the bits of chicken that are going to be eaten, rather than by the carcass itself.