Really good roast chicken is one of the most delicious meals and I have been experimenting with different approaches for years. A recent particularly tasty effort provoked a request to record what I did as I’m inclined to forget and fail to make it as nice the next time. The main lesson is to have liquid in the roasting pan for part of the cooking time which keeps the meat moist and gives a particularly flavoursome gravy (or jus). Essential - start with a good quality bird - at least free range if not organic. Cheap meat tends to involve cruelty.
Smear the bottom of the roasting tin with oil and cover with sliced onion. Place the chicken on top (you may like to put a few slices of lemon and/or garlic cloves in the cavity) and add some chopped carrots which have been tossed in oil. Place in preheated oven at 190C for 20 mins.
To half a glass of water, add a good splash each of worcestershire sauce and vermouth or wine and heat (in microwave). After the 20 mins, turn the oven down to 170C and pour half the liquid around the chicken. Add more veg around the bird e.g. parsnips.
After another 30 mins, add the remainder of the (reheated) liquid and any softer veg e,g, chopped peppers and roast for another 30 mins (for an average sized chicken) - so 1 hour 20 mins in total.
Remove the chicken to a warm serving dish and the veg to a warm bowl. Put the roasting tin on the hob and add a splash of soy sauce and tabasco (or other pepper sauce) and heat. You may wish to add a tablespoon of Bisto in a few tablespoons of water to the tin to thicken it. Taste and adjust seasoning
If you need a hot oven to crisp up some roast potatoes, the chicken and veg can be kept warm with a foil cover.
That’s it. Really moist chicken, delicious veg and the most flavoursome gravy/jus with minimum effort.
No comments:
Post a Comment