Photo: English Roast Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 (5 to 6 pound) free-range chicken (including neck and giblets, for gravy)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 lemon sliced
- Stuffing, recipe follows
- 6 slices streaky smoked bacon
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 1 medium onion peeled
Gravy:
- Chicken neck and giblets
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 small onion
- 1 carrot, cut into pieces
- 8 peppercorns
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Splash white wine, if desired
- Roast Potatoes, recipe follows
- Serving suggestion: gravy, stuffing and roast potatoes
Directions
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.
Stuffing:
- 1-ounce butter
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage finely chopped
- 1 small bunch parsley, leaves finely chopped
- 2 ounces fresh bread crumbs
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- Lemon rind, grated
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
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.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Roast Potatoes:
- 12 potatoes, peeled
- Flour, for coating
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil, for roasting
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By megstar12
on April 29, 2011
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I have not made this recipe either however I am experienced in cooking a good Sunday roast. I'm Australian and we taken alot of our recipes and cooking from mother England. We would never coat our potatoes with flour. Parboiling and roughing up the surface of the potatoes definately works best.
By denisega_10307864
Miami, Florida
on January 30, 2011
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To be fair, I haven't made this recipe but felt the need to comment on instructions for the roast potatoes. I live in England and can assure you that no one I am aware of EVER uses flour to coat their roast potatoes. In fact, the Brits would probably be horrified at the thought! The secret to crunchy roast potatoes to parboil them just until the edges are soft, drain them, and shake them around in the pot to bash up the edges. You then heat up a good amount of vegetable oil in a roasting pan by placing it in a fairly hot oven (about 400 F for a few minutes and once the oil is good and hot, you carefully coat the potatoes in the oil and cook for about 40 minutes or until golden and crunchy. Happy cooking!
By terryficnails_9...
on December 06, 2007
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this recipe was so good I'm going to use it for Christmas.
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