Classic roast chicken & gravy

Recipe uploaded by

Barney Desmazery

6 ratings

Recipe by Barney Desmazery

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1. Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Have a shelf ready in the middle of the oven without any shelves above it. Scatter the vegetables over the base of a roasting tin that fits the chicken, but doesn't swamp it. Season the cavity of the chicken liberally with salt and pepper, then stuff with the lemon halves and thyme, if using. Sit the chicken on the vegetables, smother the breast and legs all over with the 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. 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.
2. While the chicken is resting, make the gravy. Place the roasting tin over a low flame, then stir in the flour and sizzle until you have a light brown, sandy paste. Gradually pour in the 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.

The golden rule to roast chicken...

A 1.5kg chicken will be perfectly roasted after 1 hr 20 mins at 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. It doesn't matter what you stuff into it, rub or sprinkle over it or put around it, this timing never changes. Remember this and you will always be able to roast a chicken.

Per serving

567 kcalories, protein 49g, carbohydrate 4g, fat 40 g, saturated fat 13g, fibre 0g, salt 0.84 g

Latest comments and suggestions

• Mimi

  20 April 2008

  Mimi rated and commented on this recipe

  

  PERFECT!!! I consider myself a very mediocre chef.. Every roast chicken recipe I have tried either results in a bird that is too dry, burnt or looks poached. Others are too faffy..basting, turning and burnt fingers!! This one made me look like a pro chef for Sunday lunch today with no effort..RAVE reviews from the family, easy as pie and lovely moist breast meat (the true test to a roast recipe). I used olive oil instead of butter purely because I just used the last bit for the lemon pudding recipe (the super speedy one! amazing). Barney is a genius!!

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• Beth

  30 April 2008

  Beth rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Really lovely - my gravy never goes well but this produced a lovely gravy.

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• Joff

  25 May 2008

  Joff rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Such a simple recipe with great results!

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• AnneMarie

  10 September 2008

  AnneMarie rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Perfect!!! Really impressed my boyfriend's parents - I looked like a pro!

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• Claire

  18 September 2008

  Claire rated this recipe

  

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• Baskerville

  26 September 2008

  Baskerville rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Sorry but this was one to pass up. I cooked this dish just as the method suggests, it soon became apparent that the veg was burning and the chicken was browning far too quickly on the outside, I reduced the heat and lowered the chicken to the bottom of the oven but still the veg was turning to a burnt mess, after cooking for the alloted time I removed the bird to try and save any juices, there was very little to go at and the veg had to be thrown away, what gravy was left had a very fatty residue and that also had to be thrown away. I quickly realised that this dish would only be ok if the bird was enclosed in a pyrex dish with a stock cube, then the gravy could be removed after cooking and then the bird returned to the oven and basted with butter to allow the skin to be crisped. For anyone like my family who prefer gravy I don't think this method works. Baskerville.

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Ingredients

• 1 onion , roughly chopped
• 2 carrots , roughly chopped
• 1 free range chicken , about 1.5kg/3lb 5oz
• 1 lemon , halved
• small bunch thyme (optional)

FOR THE GRAVY

• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 250ml chicken stock (a cube is fine)

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Difficulty and servings

Serves 4

Preperation and cooking times

Prep 10 mins

Cook min 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 onion , roughly chopped
• 2 carrots , roughly chopped
• 1 free range chicken , about 1.5kg/3lb 5oz
• 1 lemon , halved
• small bunch thyme (optional)

FOR THE GRAVY

• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 250ml chicken stock (a cube is fine)

Per serving

567 kcalories, protein 49g, carbohydrate 4g, fat 40 g, saturated fat 13g, fibre 0g, salt 0.84 g

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