Roast Chicken
Ingredients
- ▢1.75 – 2 kg / 3.5 – 4lb whole chicken , patted dry
- ▢Salt and pepper
- ▢2 tsp olive oil
- ▢1 lemon, quartered
- ▢3 rosemary sprigs
BUTTER:
- ▢100 g / 1 stick unsalted butter , melted
- ▢3 garlic cloves , minced
- ▢1 tbsp sage , finely chopped (Note 1)
- ▢2 tsp rosemary , finely chopped (Note 1)
- ▢1 tbsp parsley , finely chopped (Note 1)
- ▢1/2 tsp each salt and black pepper
UNDER CHOOK:
- ▢1 cup / 250 ml dry white wine , or low sodium chicken broth
- ▢1 onion , quartered (Note 2)
- ▢1 garlic bulb , halved horizontally (Note 2)
Instructions
- Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.
- Preheat oven to 220C/450F (standard) or 200C/430F (fan/convection). Put shelf in the middle.
- Mix together Butter ingredients. Add juice from 2 wedges of lemon.
- Place chicken in a roasting pan. Use a dessert spoon to loosen skin from chicken (see video). Do the top (the breast) and the drumsticks – not the underside.
- Prop chicken upright, drizzle butter under skin, using most of the garlic/herb sludge, but saving a bit of butter for the skin (Note 3).
- Drizzle / smear remaining butter all over surface of the chicken. Squeeze over juice of 2 lemon wedges.
- Stuff used lemon wedges and rosemary inside chicken.
- Tie drumstick ends with string and tuck wing tips under the chicken.
- Sprinkle all over with salt and pepper.
- Place onion and garlic in the pan, place chicken on top. Pour wine around, drizzle chicken with oil.
- Transfer to oven. Roast for 10 minutes, then turn oven down to 180C/350F (all oven types). Roast for a further 1 hr 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 75C/165F or until juices run clear when pierced at the join between the drumstick and the body. Baste twice (30 min then at 1 hr), spooning pan juices over skin.
- Rest for 15 minutes – don’t cover, skin becomes wet.
- Serve with pan juices (see video for how to carve). I discard onion but use the garlic in the pan. See notes for side suggestions & how to use carcass for incredible homemade broth!
