There are many meat options when it comes to a roast dinner, but chicken proves to be more affordable than other options, meaning it is extremely popular.
It can also be cooked in a variety of different ways, meaning people can tailor it to their preferences.
However, roast chicken can also be hard to get right, especially when looking to keep it nice and juicy with a crispy skin.
Jamie Oliver’s recipe notes said: “Here’s a super-reliable roast chicken recipe to give you juicy meat and crispy skin, every time.”
It cooks in just one hour 25 minutes, including resting time, and will serve four people.
Ingredients:
A 1.6kg chicken
Two medium onions
Two carrots
Two sticks of celery
One bulb of garlic
Olive oil
One lemon
One bunch of mixed fresh herbs, such as thyme or rosemary
Method:
Remove the chicken from the fridge 30 minutes before you want to cook it and then preheat the oven to 240C.
Wash and roughly chop the vegetables and pile them into the middle of a large roasting tray, drizzled with olive oil.
Drizzle the chicken with oil and season well with salt and black pepper before placing it on top of the vegetables.
Carefully prick the lemon all over, using the tip of a sharp knife before putting it inside the chicken with the herbs.
Place the tray into the oven and then turn the heat down immediately to 200C, cooking it for one hour and 20 minutes.
If you’re doing roast potatoes and vegetables, now is the time to crack on with them, getting them into the oven for the last 45 minutes of cooking.
Baste the chicken halfway through cooking and if the vegetables are looking dry, add a splash of water to stop them burning.
When the chicken is cooked, take the tray out of the oven and transfer the chicken to a board to rest for 15 minutes.
Cover it with a layer of tin foil and leave it to rest. To carve the chicken, remove any string and take off the wings, carefully cutting it down between the leg and the breast.
Cut through the joint and pull the leg off before repeating on the other side and then cutting each leg between the thigh and the drumstick.
