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Food in focus |  |
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Roast Chicken
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When choosing a chicken for roasting, select a bird that is labelled a "roaster". Roasters are generally older birds with more muscle, flavour and fat. The fat is excellent for roasting because it adds flavour and moisture to the meat as it cooks and will eventually melt off and collect in the pan. Corn-fed, organic or free-range chicken will be less spongy as the bird has had a chance to roam around, building up muscle.
A perfectly fresh chicken should have no detectable odour; the flesh should feel firm; the surface should not feel slick; the skin should be light in colour and moist rather than wet, and the breast meat should be plump and well rounded. Fresh poultry will keep for two days in the fridge, but thereafter it should be frozen. If you don't have a microwave, thaw your chicken in the fridge (overnight) or in cold water, never on the windowsill.
To prepare your chicken, remove the giblets and neck and rinse the chicken with cool water, inside and out. Pat it dry with paper towels and set it on a clean working surface. Tuck your fingers between the skin and the flesh to loosen the skin and create pockets where you are going to insert your herb or spice butter (see below). Take care not to break the skin.
Rub the outside of the bird with softened unsalted butter, which encourages browning. Finely chop some fresh oregano, thyme, and parsley (or whatever herbs you have or prefer) and mash with softened, unsalted butter until well combined. Work this mixture under the skin of the bird to help keep it moist and to add some flavour notes to the mild meat. Sprinkle a generous dose of salt and pepper both outside and inside the bird's cavity so that the seasonings can be absorbed into the meat during roasting, more effective than trying to season the surface later. Tuck the wing tips between the wings and the body.
Stuff the cavity with a halved orange or lemon, garlic cloves, half an onion, and any fresh or dried herbs of your choice. You could also use half an apple, celery sticks and carrots, whatever you like. If you're going to stuff the chicken, do it only just before you put the bird in the oven to prevent bacteria from growing. If the chicken is particularly lean, you can lay some strips of fatty bacon across the breast of the bird and across the drumsticks. Remove the bacon after the first 25 minutes of roasting, and baste with the drippings to ensure crisp, brown skin.
Place the chicken breast-down (to allow the juices to moisten the breast meat) on a V-shaped rack, if you have one, as this cradles the bird and holds it up higher off the pan than a flat rack (or no rack at all). But any rack will do in a pinch. Placing the chicken on a rack in the roasting pan lets the hot air circulate under the bird so that it browns right round... no more flabby chicken skin on the back side. Keeping the chicken out of the pan allows the juices to evaporate into a rich, caramelised layer (the intensely flavourful base for your sauce), leaving the fat as a layer that can simply be poured off.
When setting the chicken directly in the roasting pan, the juices that collect around the chicken never have the chance to reduce. Though flavourful, they aren't caramelised so they're not as rich tasting, and they're mixed with the fat, which makes degreasing difficult. If you like, scatter some unpeeled garlic cloves in the roasting pan. You can also add some onions and/or potatoes or other vegetables to the roasting tin, about 40 minutes to an hour before the chicken is done, depending on their size. Turn them once or twice to ensure they brown evenly.
The length of time a chicken will cook depends on whether it is stuffed and/or trussed and on the quantity of other ingredients, such as potatoes and vegetables, added to the pan. As a general guide, roast chicken at 220 degrees C/425 degrees F/gas mark 7 for 10 for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 190 degrees C/375 degrees F/gas mark 5 and allow 45 minutes per kg, plus 20 minutes. A blasting heat at the start of cooking time is what crisps the skin and gives the chicken a great roasty flavour. High heat throughout cooking works, but causes the fat to splatter (some prevent this by placing the chicken on a bed of course salt).
If the heat is too low, the skin never really develops that lovely crispy brown and the meat tastes too bland. As for basting, larger birds are fattier and don't need to be basted. Strips of bacon will help along leaner or smaller birds, and if you baste, do it only three times during the whole cooking period. If the skin is not crisp to your liking, squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the breast 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time, and season with salt and pepper. Don't baste the chicken at all after this and the skin should crisp up well.
Note: Ovens vary and so do chickens, so cooking times should be guidelines only. Generally speaking, your chicken should be done between an hour and 15 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on size.
The best way to determine if it has cooked long enough is to check for doneness. Do this by checking the skin, which should be golden brown. The drumsticks should be loose in their joints when you wiggle them; when pricked in the thigh or breast, the juices should run clear, with no pinkish colouring. If you tilt a whole bird up, the juices that run out from the cavity should also be clear.
But now may be the time to finally invest in a meat thermometer, as that is the best way to test for doneness. Dark meat is done between 165 and 175 degrees F/74 to 79 degrees C and white meat is done between 149 and 152 degrees F/65 to 67 degrees C. Most cooks agree the chicken is ready to serve when a meat thermometer inserted deep into the thigh reads 180 degrees F/82 degrees C. Take care not to insert the thermometer too close to the bone nor too close to the skin.
Leave the chicken to rest for at least 15 minutes, covered in foil to keep it warm. This allows the juices which have bubbled up during cooking to sink back into the bird, leaving the meat moist.
Meanwhile, set the roasting tin on top of the stove over a high heat and stir in some white wine, scraping up all the sediment from the bottom of the tin. Boil down until syrupy and serve this unthickened juice as the French call it jus, with the roast chicken. If you want a thicker gravy, tilt the roasting tin so the drippings collect in one corner, skimming off as much fat as possible, and leaving the drippings behind. Stir a tablespoon of flour into the drippings to make a roux-like paste. Pour in a cup or chicken stock in stages; continue to stir to dissolve the flour evenly to prevent lumps. Stir in a splash or two of sherry and season with salt and pepper. If you want, you could stir in a dollop of cream right at the end.
If you've stuffed the chicken, remove the stuffing from the cavity and place in a serving dish. The key to carving a chicken is to use a very sharp knife and work from the outside in. In other words, remove the legs and wings, then carve the breast.
What can you serve with your perfect roast chicken? Roast potatoes are always a hit, but you can do so much more with your spuds. For great ideas, read Perfect Potatoes. And for your other vegetables, here are a couple of handpicked side dishes to celebrate your roasting success:
Although all the information we've given you may seem a bit much to absorb at once, it's really not all that complicated, and you should be able to have delicious roast chicken with all the trimmings and side-dishes in just under two hours. That's not bad for a gourmet meal, is it?
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10 things to do with roast chicken |  |
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Tip of the day | |
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Brining is best
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