British · Chicken

Roast Chicken

Lemon, garlic and thyme butter pushed under the skin, then trussed and roasted to temperature for crisp skin and juicy breast meat.

Serves
4
Prep20 min
Cookabout 1 hr 15 min
Sunday roast

Method

  1. Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before roasting and leave it uncovered on the bench, so it cooks evenly. Pat the skin dry with paper towel before the butter goes on.
  2. Preheat the oven to 210°C (200°C fan / 410°F / gas 6–7).
  3. Zest the lemon and finely grate the garlic. In a bowl, mix the butter with the lemon zest, garlic, a pinch of salt and pepper, the MSG and the chopped thyme. Set aside.
  4. Optional: remove the wishbone from the neck end of the chicken by carefully scraping down each side of the bone, then pull it out with your index finger and thumb, trying to keep it whole. It makes carving much easier.
  5. Cut the zested lemon in half and put both halves inside the cavity with some salt and any leftover thyme. Season the underside of the chicken with salt and a little of the butter.
  6. With your fingers, gently lift the skin away from the breasts, working towards the neck end. Spread the butter mixture evenly under the skin to cover the breasts, then massage the skin from the outside to spread it.
  7. Truss the chicken: slip the middle of about 1 m of butcher's twine under the wings on the back of the bird, bring both ends up over the body and cross them over the top of the legs, loop around the leg knuckles, criss-cross again and pull tight so the knuckles cross. Loop around the knuckles once more and tie off.
  8. Rub the rest of the butter all over the chicken and season with salt.
  9. Roast, checking the temperature from 40 minutes. A small bird (about 1.5 kg) takes 45–50 minutes; a larger one (about 2 kg) 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. You want at least 62°C (145°F) in the thickest part of the leg, not touching the bone.
  10. Rest for 15 minutes before carving. Carryover cooking takes it above 70°C (160°F) and the juices settle back into the meat.

From our kitchen

Good to know

  • Pan sauce: after resting, stand the chicken up over the tray so the juices in the cavity drain out. Combine with the pan drippings and deglaze the tray with some shallots, stock and butter. A splash of sherry vinegar and some thyme or rosemary finish it.
  • Vegetables can roast in the same tray: toss halved potatoes, carrots and onions in olive oil and salt and add them about 20 minutes after the chicken goes in.
  • Leftover meat keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Simmer the carcass for 2 hours with an onion, carrot, celery stalk and a few peppercorns, covered with water, for stock.

Based on andy-cooks.com