Butter under the skin and a lemon in the cavity. Rest it 15 minutes and the breast stays juicy and the bird carves clean.
From the shop
Start with a whole chicken of about 1.6 kg. Butterflied, it roasts flat in about 45 minutes.
Check the thickest part of the thigh, not the breast. Chicken is done when the juice there runs clear and a thermometer reads 75°C.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken, about 1.6 kg
- 50 g butter, softened
- 1 lemon, halved
- 4 garlic cloves, skin on, bashed
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and cracked black pepper
- 1 kg potatoes, peeled and halved, to roast alongside
Method
- Heat the oven to 200°C. Pat the chicken dry inside and out.
- Loosen the skin over the breast with your fingers. Push half the butter under it. Rub the rest of the butter and the oil over the outside. Season well with salt and pepper.
- Put the lemon halves, garlic and thyme inside the cavity. Tie the legs together with string.
- Set the chicken breast up in a roasting tray. Toss the potatoes in a little oil and salt and put them around it.
- Roast for 1 hour 20 minutes, until the juice from the thigh runs clear and a thermometer in the thickest part reads 75°C. Turn the potatoes once.
- Lift the chicken onto a board. Cover loosely with foil. Rest for 15 minutes. Turn the oven up and crisp the potatoes while it rests.
- Carve: legs first, then the breast in slices.
Serve it
Serve with the roast potatoes, gravy from the tray juices, and steamed greens. Keep the frame for stock.