There are countless recipes out there for “Roast Chicken”. Roast chicken with potatoes, veggies, spatchcocked, with beer, with lemon, herbs, no herbs, butter, olive oil, slow cooked, and so on. However, regardless of what goes in or around the chicken, most of the recipes will include the following key ingredients: butter (for crispy skin), lemon (to keep the meat moist), garlic and herbs (for flavour).
Though there are days that I like to fuss around my roast chicken and make something interesting, unusual or grander with it, there are also days where I just want to make a simple roast chicken to serve for dinner or Sunday lunch and try to get some leftovers for work lunches. Here is my recipe for a simple roast chicken
Roast Chicken
Serves 4 | Prep 10 minutes | Cook 1 hr 30 minutes + resting
Easy | Gluten-free
You’ll need:
- 1.5 kg chicken;
- 1 large onion, cut into thick disks;
- 50g butter, softened;
- 2-3 garlic cloves, bashed;
- 1 lemon, halved;
- A small bunch thyme;
- 2-3 bay leaves;
- 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil;
- Salt & pepper for seasoning.
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6. Place the onion disks in the middle of roasting tray, large enough to fit the chicken. Place the chicken on a board and massage with the softened butter, covering the whole chicken. Season all over with salt and pepper and inside the cavity. Squeeze a little of the lemon all over the chicken, then put the halves in the cavity, along with the garlic and herbs. Place the chicken on top of the onion in the roasting tray and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil, just enough to get the flavour from the olive oil.
Roast for around 1hr and 15 minutes. You can check if the chicken is ready by inserting a meat thermometer inside or piercing a knife in the thicker parts. If the juices run clear then the chicken is ready. If they are still pink, roast for another 15 minutes and check again, and continue until ready. If the skin is starting to get too dark, you can cover the chicken with foil.
Once ready, leave to rest for 15 minutes, covered loosely with foil. Meanwhile, you can make a gravy if you wish. Add the herbs and garlic to the roasting tin and scrape any of the cooking bits. Add any juices from the chicken as it is resting to the tin, along with 300ml chicken stock. You can add 1 tbsp flour to thicken the gravy and continue to stir until the gravy has reduced a bit and has become glossy and thick. If you are cooking for gluten free diet, you can use the same process for the gravy with gluten-free flour.
Serve with roast potatoes, gravy, veggies and whatever else your heart desires!
~Em
Previously published on Food Notes on this date (Jan 21st):
== 2018 ==
* Buttermilk pancakes with caramelised bananas and Brazil nuts: https://foodnotesdotblog.wordpress.com/2018/01/21/buttermilk-pancakes-with-caramelised-bananas-and-brazil-nuts/
Food Notes 