Best English Roast Chicken Recipes

ENGLISH ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F.
• To prepare the chicken, lift the skin gently with a knife and insert some small pieces of butter and slices of lemon under the breast.
• Make a ball of the stuffing and place in the cavity. Tie the chicken together with a string. Lay 6 pieces of streaky smoked bacon over the chicken. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Rub salt and butter into the skin. Heat oil in roasting pan and put the chicken and the onion into it. Cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Baste the chicken thoroughly every 20 minutes. After 1 hour and 10 minutes remove the crispy bacon slices and place them on a dish for serving. Return the chicken to the oven for another 20 minutes.
• While the Chicken is cooking, start the gravy:
• To make stock, combine the giblets with a bay leaf and an onion in a saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Add carrot and peppercorns. When the chicken is cooked, transfer it to a plate and keep warm. Put the roasting tin on heat and drain off fat with a spoon. Add 2 tablespoons of flour to the juice. Keep stirring. When the juice is brown add the stock. Sieve the gravy to remove any lumps. Add a splash of white wine if desired.
• In a medium saucepan melt the butter and sweat the onions until translucent. Combine the chopped herbs, breadcrumbs, beaten egg, lemon juice and zest in a medium-mixing bowl. Add onions and mix thoroughly.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Parboil the potatoes. Coat them in flour. Put in a roasting tin with very hot sunflower oil. Roast for 30 minutes.

17TH CENTURY ENGLISH ROAST CHICKEN WITH SHERRY, APRICOTS AND PRUNES

Steps:

• A few hours before (or the night before) put the prunes and apricot slices in a small sealable container and pour ½ cup sherry over them. Seal and tilt to moisten all the fruit. Marinate until roasting time. Rinse and dry fryers with paper towels. Season insides of fryers with salt, pepper and ginger (1/2 teaspoon ginger in each). Drain the fruit but keep any drained-off sherry. Place 10 prunes, followed by 1 tablespoon pat of butter in each chicken, then 10 dried apricot halves in each. Close cavity and tie down drumsticks. Place fryers in a roasting pan just large enough to hold them. Rub butter over breasts and drumsticks; sprinkle fryers lightly with salt and pepper. Peel and quarter the onion and place around fryers in the roasting pan. Roast uncovered at 375° F. After 10 minutes pour remaining marinating sherry plus more to make ½ cup over chickens. Continue roasting, basting with pan juices every 10 minutes, adding a little chicken stock to juices, if necessary, to keep them from burning. If chickens start to brown too much before testing done, cover them with a tent of foil. When thighs test done, about 1¼ to 1½ hours, carve chickens and place on platter. Surrounded the perimeter of the platter with semi-circular orange slices, peel-on and curved sides outward. Top each slice with a prune and each prune with an apricot half from the chicken cavities. If any fruit remains, scatter over top of chicken. To the pan juices add ¾ cup sherry and bring to a rapid boil over a range burner, scraping loose the brown particles in pan. Stir constantly until syrupy. Strain through a strainer. Skim off as much fat as possible and pour some of the sauce over chicken. Pass any remaining sauce separately.

ENGLISH ROAST CHICKEN AND GRAVY

Steps:

• Preheat over to 350°F.
• Remove giblets, and rinse chicken. Dry chicken completely with paper towels (important). Place in a shallow roasting pan.
• Rub with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, and with the salt, onion powder, and pepper.
• Remove skin from an onion, cut in half, and place into microwave safe dish into microwave on high for 3-4 minutes, or just until soft.
• Place half the onion in the chicken cavity, and put the other half pulled apart in pieces all around the chicken in the pan.
• Roast chicken uncovered in the oven for 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours.
• Insert meat thermometer. Temperature should be around 180°F (If you see red or pink juices coming out, it is definitely still raw).
• Once fully cooked, remove chicken from pan, saving pan drippings and let the chicken rest for at least 10 minutes.
• Skim fat from pan drippings, and place pan on stove top on medium heat. (If there is a lot of juice, you may want to pour some off).
• Slowly heat the juices and whisk in flour to desired gravy thickness. If the gravy becomes too thick, just thin it out with water. Add more onion powder if desired.

ENGLISH ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. To prepare the chicken, lift the skin gently with a knife and insert some small pieces of butter and slices of lemon under the breast. Make a ball of the stuffing and place in the cavity. Tie the chicken together with a string. Lay 6 pieces of streaky smoked bacon ove r the chicken. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Rub salt and butter into the skin. Heat oil in roasting pan and put the chicken and the onion into it. Cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Baste the chicken thoroughly every 20 minutes. After 1 hour and 10 minutes remove the crispy bacon slices and place them on a dish for serving. Return the chicken to the oven for another 20 minutes. .While the Chicken is cooking, start the gravy: To make stock, combine the giblets with a bay leaf and an onion in a saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Add carrot and peppercorns. When the chicken is cooked, transfer it to a plate and keep warm. Put the roasting tin on heat and drain off fat with a spoon. Add 2 tablespoons of flour to the juice. Keep stirring. When the juice is brown add the stock. Sieve the gravy to remove any lumps. Add a splash of white wine if desired. For stuffing, In a medium saucepan melt the butter and sweat the onions until translucent. Combine the chopped herbs, breadcrumbs, beaten egg, lemon juice and zest in a medium-mixing bowl. Add onions and mix thoroughly.