CLASSIC ROAST CHICKEN & GRAVY

facebook share image   twitter share image   pinterest share image   E-Mail share image



Classic roast chicken & gravy image

What more can we say? A classic roast chicken recipe should be in everyone's repertoire, and it can always save the day

Provided by Barney Desmazery

Categories     Main course

Time 1h40m

Number Of Ingredients 8

1 onion, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
1 free range chicken, about 1.5kg/3lb 5oz
1 lemon, halved
small bunch thyme (optional)
25g butter, softened
1 tbsp plain flour
250ml chicken stock (a cube is fine)

Steps:

  • Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Have a shelf ready in the middle of the oven without any shelves above it.
  • Scatter 1 roughly chopped onion and 2 roughly chopped carrots over the base of a roasting tin that fits the whole 1 ½ kg chicken, but doesn't swamp it.
  • Season the cavity of the chicken liberally with salt and pepper, then stuff with 2 lemon halves and a small bunch of thyme, if using.
  • Sit the chicken on the vegetables, smother the breast and legs all over with 25g softened butter, then season the outside with salt and pepper.
  • Place in the oven and leave, undisturbed, for 1 hr 20 mins - this will give you a perfectly roasted chicken. To check, pierce the thigh with a skewer and the juices should run clear.
  • Carefully remove the tin from the oven and, using a pair of tongs, lift the chicken to a dish or board to rest for 15-20 mins. As you lift the dish, let any juices from the chicken pour out of the cavity into the roasting tin.
  • While the chicken is resting, make the gravy. Place the roasting tin over a low flame, then stir in 1 tbsp flour and sizzle until you have a light brown, sandy paste.
  • Gradually pour in 250ml chicken stock, stirring all the time, until you have a thickened sauce.
  • Simmer for 2 mins, using a wooden spoon to stir, scraping any sticky bits from the tin.
  • Strain the gravy into a small saucepan, then simmer and season to taste. When you carve the bird, add any extra juices to the gravy.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 567 calories, Fat 40 grams fat, SaturatedFat 13 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 4 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 1 grams sugar, Protein 49 grams protein, Sodium 0.84 milligram of sodium

There are no comments yet!