There’s potentially nothing more Sunday than a Roast Chicken. It is the thing that friends always either raved about on a Monday morning or deplored. Done right I’ve found it to be amazing – juicy, flavourful and a great centrepiece to a roast dinner. Whenever we roast a chicken, we use the whole bird – sliced hot on Sunday then pulled off the bone on Sunday evening ready to make a stock. The leftovers usually do us at least another meal and round of sandwiches.
This is a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall River Cottage Meat book inspired recipe. I poured over the recipe for hours working out the timings. Hugh suggests a 3 ‘phase’ roast for any meat. First the half hour sizzle. Then the cooking. Followed by ‘the rest.’ My first exploration into roasting chicken went really well – at first I thought it was beginners luck but the 2nd, 3rd and 4th roasts all followed nicely too. The meat was juicy and flavourful. T even described it as ‘the best chicken’ she’s had.
Roast Chicken – The Recipe
Slather a 1.8kg chicken with butter (too much is about the right amount). Season with a couple of large pinches of course sea salt and massage in. Cover the bird with chopped sage, rosemary, and oregano (mine was from the garden). In the cavity, shove a pierced lemon, 3 garlic cloves, a fistful of thyme sprigs and more butter. Drizzle the whole lot with a little olive oil and roast uncovered for half an hour at Gas mark 6. Add quartered onions into the roasting tray and baste the bird with its own juices before adding a large glass of white wine into the roasting tray (not over the bird). Turn down the oven to gas mark 5 and roast for another 45 minutes. Then, leave to rest out of the oven under foil for atleast 15 minutes. Serve with roast potatoes, stuffing balls, honeyed carrots, and buttered cabbage.
The Meat Diary 
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