Classic roast chicken & gravy

Classic roast chicken & gravy

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(60 ratings)

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Cooking time

Prep: 10 mins Cook: 1 hr, 30 mins Plus resting

Skill level

Easy

Servings

Serves 4

What more can we say? The classic roast chicken is something everyone should know and can always save the day

Nutrition and extra info

Nutrition info

Nutrition per serving

kcalories
567
protein
49g
carbs
4g
fat
40g
saturates
13g
fibre
0g
sugar
1g
salt
0.84g
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Ingredients

  • 1 onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 carrots, roughly chopped
  • 1 free range chicken, about 1½ kg/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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  • Tip

    Other rules

    Always leave your chicken to rest for at least 15 mins before carving. This will give you a juicy chicken that is a lot easier to carve. For a more succulent chicken, take it out of the fridge one hour before cooking to bring it up to room temperature. This rule applies to any meat you are roasting. Don’t worry about turning or basting your chicken as it roasts. Yes, these can give good results, but are fiddly for the beginner, plus every time you open the oven you lose heat.

  • Tip

    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.

  • Tip

    Barney says...

    Ever wondered how professional cooks turn out impressive dishes without even referring to a recipe? It’s simply down to basic rules, which have been followed so often that they become second nature, guaranteeing the dish will work every time. You can do the same thing at home – once you’ve learnt the must-dos, cooking becomes easier and you can relax and start to experiment more, knowing the end result will always be delicious. Simply follow the rules and you won’t go wrong.

Method

  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.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, May 2008

BBC GoodFood Magazine

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Comments

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gainsandsuch's picture
gainsandsuch21:22, 6th Jan, 2015
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amazing recipe for me and the wife to enjoy... loved how simple it was to improvise! will make time and time again!

LittlePipper's picture
LittlePipper12:40, 26th Oct, 2014

This is my favourite roast chicken receipe I have ever used! I do put in a stick or two of celery along with the carrot and onions together with a few cloves of garlic. Roast it in the oven with some roast potatoes and butternut squash..cooking right now as I write this!! Delicious!!

davect's picture
davect01:43, 21st Oct, 2014
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Simple recipe with delicious results. I used a 2 kg chicken, and roasted it for an hour and 50 min. Came out beautifully moist and the gravy was rich and flavourful. Will definitely make this again.

wee_g74's picture
wee_g7419:43, 11th Oct, 2014
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Fabulously juicy chicken, wonderful!! And the gravy is outstanding!

Mia82's picture
Mia8208:30, 4th May, 2014
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Perfect roast chicken every time and lovely gravy!

supa_debo's picture
supa_debo14:10, 28th Feb, 2014

Most amazing gravy!!!

Johnny-a's picture
Johnny-a13:19, 26th Jan, 2014

Recipe recommend to empty juices out of the chicken when taking it out of the tray but if I do that what about the vegetables still on the tray? What is the next process, scoop out the carrots (with the chicken juices just poured on top) and then what, wait about 15 / 20 minutes while I do the gray, won't the vegetables get cold?

gilesmarg's picture
gilesmarg16:19, 28th Jan, 2014

Hi Johnny-a! The roasted veggies are to add flavor to the stock and are not meant to be served. Supermarkets do a really cheap stock pack that I use so I don't feel guilty when I put the remains in the bin. They really make a fantastic gravy though so worth it!

nadiar93's picture
nadiar9308:36, 5th Jan, 2014

Only just really started to teach myself to cook, and honestly this is the easiest and most gorgeous recipe. Turned out perfect! Definitely recommend.

kln115's picture
kln11519:35, 23rd Dec, 2013

I don't mind trying new things in the kitchen but the thought of cooking a roast terrified me. I think it's because my mum made it look a military operation when I was young and it never turned out very good (sorry mum). My 2 year old loves roast dinners when dining out so I decided to bite the bullet and attempt to cook my own roast chicken. I didn't have any lemons or herbs so I used garlic instead. The chicken was beautiful and moist and both my son and fiancé loved it. It's foolproof for an absolute beginner. I used red onion too and the gravy was delicious :)

Daisy.critchley's picture
Daisy.critchley21:26, 4th Dec, 2013

I've never roasted a chicken before, but this was so easy to do so now I don't know why this was my first time! Didn't have a lemon so mixed lemon juice, dry rosemary and thyme, and olive oil inside the chicken and still tasted amazing. Thankyou!

jburton's picture
jburton08:08, 11th Nov, 2013

Thanks Barney you have helped me out yet again. Will be making this tonight after work.

carol52's picture
carol5211:32, 14th Apr, 2013
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I made this using a cornfed chicken,lemon and thyme from the garden, and cooked it in the Weber, making the gravy on the stovetop. It was delicious - we couldn't stop picking at it!

dynamon79's picture
dynamon7904:54, 13th Mar, 2013
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It was such an easy recipe, specially as I only had a short time to cook it. When it came out of the oven it was a gorgeous golden color.

For dietary reasons I had substituted the butter for olive oil and as I didnt have fresh thyme I made do with the dry kind. The aroma was so good that I dispensed with the sauce and we had a delicious meal. Incidentally, it was also very easy to carve as it was soft.

dynamon79's picture
dynamon7904:43, 13th Mar, 2013
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We only had a short time to cook and found this recipe very easy Most of all it was delicious and not dry, and even the white meat was tasty.

For dietary reasons I substituted olive oil for the butter. I would have preferred fresh thyme but made do with the dried version.

And what a lovely golden color it was when I took it out of the oven!
It was so nice that I didnt add the sauce so I dont know i it would have been even better!

I didn't make the sauce,

frowne's picture
frowne06:48, 2nd Feb, 2013
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I've cooked a lot of roast chooks and this is by far the best recipe - it was perfect.

frowne's picture
frowne06:47, 2nd Feb, 2013
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This recipe is fantastic. I followed it exactly and it was perfect - moist breast, often a challenge when I cook a chook.

nwilliams87's picture
nwilliams8704:17, 20th Jan, 2013
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This recipe makes the best chicken gravy I have ever tasted! Completely foolproof. Only thing I tend to add is a little rosemary along with the thyme. Very excited to have this for my tea on this lovely snowy night.

dee101's picture
dee10106:25, 30th Dec, 2012
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Great easy recipe !
I used olive oil instead of butter on the chicken and put 3 cloves of garlic inside instead of lemon. Then popped it in uncovered for 1hr 20 mins easy as that ! will be cooking it this way from now on.

Thanks Barney :)

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