The Ultimate Guide To The Perfect Roast Chicken
The perfect roast chicken is the one recipe every home cook should hold in their repertoire. Whether it’s for Sunday lunch or an easy weeknight dinner, here’s our top tips for the ultimate succulent, juicy and flavoured roast.
Ingredients
- High welfare whole chicken available from our Borough Market, Chelsea and Chiswick stores.
- Tip 1 – Prep Like A Chef
For a super succulent roast, remove the chicken from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking to allow it to reach room temperature.
- Tip 2 – All The Flavour
For flavour that permeates every juicy bite, stuff your chicken with your choice of veg and herbs, adding extra into the roasting pan for the bird to sit on. We love to use veg that’s of the season with some of our go-to favourites being onion, garlic, celery, carrots, turnips and lemon along with fresh rosemary, tarragon, parsley or thyme.
Finally, before popping into the oven, drizzle some oil across the skin and season with salt and pepper. If you feel like pushing the seasoning basics a step further, consider rubbing in some smoked paprika or cumin to spice things up.
- Tip 3 – Time To Roast
It’s time to get that bird in the oven. We always recommend you follow the guidelines on cooking times for the weight of your bird, but a general rule of thumb is that a 1.5kg chicken will be perfectly roasted after 1 hr 20 mins at 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. The best way to check your chicken is cooked to perfection is to test that the juices run clear – any hint of pink pop back into the oven for a bit longer.
- Tip 4 – Let It Rest
Always leave your chicken to rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. Cover with tin foil and a warm tea towel and let those juices reabsorb for the most delicious, succulent chicken you’ve ever tasted.