How To Make The Perfect Roast Chicken

We love a classic, juicy, crispy skin ROAST CHICKEN dinner in our house. Paired with crispy potatoes and a flavourful gravy, it makes for a super satisfying meal. It’s also surprisingly easy and requires minimal ingredients. You can even get creative with the flavours to customise your chicken to your liking. With a few tips and tricks, you’ll have the perfect dinner ready in no time!

PREPARATION

Get a chicken with a skin. DO NOT WASH the chicken! This can actually contaminate your kitchen sink area which is a greater health hazard. Any bacteria on the chicken will get killed once cooked. Also, washing the chicken adds extra moisture which prevents the skin from getting crispy. Next, pat the chicken very well, including inside the cavity, using paper towels to remove moisture to ensure the skin gets crispy. You also want to take a tooth pick and poke some holes all over the skin. Season the skin as well as the inside of the cavity liberally with salt and pepper. And that’s your basic chicken ready.

FLAVOURING

You can either leave the chicken plain as is or use any fresh herbs and spices for extra flavour. I stuffed the cavity with 1 lemon (halved), 4 cloves of garlic and some dried rosemary, which I sprinkled on top as well. I also brushed the chicken with 2 tablespoons of melted butter, because butter makes everything better!

COOKING 

Spread out some chopped vegetables to cover the bottom of a baking pan. I did potatoes, onions as well as a head of garlic for the chicken to sit on to add more flavour. Any veggies will work such as carrots, sweet potato, etc. Place the chicken directly on top of the vegetables. Elevating it from the pan will allow it to cook more evenly and get the skin more crispy as it allows air to circulate all around the chicken. Make sure you tie the legs together! Cook the chicken in an oven preheated to 200 degrees C for 1 hour. You'll know its ready when the skin is golden and crispy. You can check for doneness by inserting a fork into the thigh and the juices should run clear. Once cooked remove from the pan using tongs and allow excess juices to drip from the cavity onto the pan (you'll need this to make the gravy). Remove roasted vegetables to serve on the side.

GRAVY

For me, no roast chicken is complete without a gravy! To make the gravy pour the juices from the roasting pan into a a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and stir in 1 tablespoon of flour, whisking vigorously to form a thick paste. Gradually add in 200 ml of chicken stock as well as two tablespoons of butter. Continue whisking until it comes to a boil and thickens. Serve immediately.

I hope you all found this post helpful and gives you some guidance on how to go about making your roast chicken. Once you make it, you'll realise how easy, efficient and effortless it actually is and will soon, hopefully, become your go to weeknight dinner!