My First Roast Chicken

How is it, that at the ripe old age of 31 and a self confessed foodie that I haven’t roasted a whole chicken?
Cooking chicken has consisted of stir frying some breast tenders or poaching breast in stock. I have roasted drumsticks, but the idea of roasting a whole, entire chicken has always frightened me. I mean, it’s a whole chicken! So many things could go wrong.
I decided the other day that it is high time that I just did it. Roast the bird and be done with it. This blog is as much about celebrating great ingredients and recipes as conquering my culinary fears, and as this blog progresses, you will find I have many to conquer.

It was also a great excuse to get to know my local butcher and hopefully pick up some tips from him. You see, I have recently moved to a new area and there is a fantastic butcher, deli, fish monger and grocers within walking distance from my home and I am looking forward to getting to know them.



The butcher, a chap who seemed to love what he did, was very happy to help me select the perfect free-range chook, a Bannockburn Free Range from the Barossa Valley in S.A. 

I have read countless recipes on how to roast a chicken, many of them with the same or similar methods. 

The butcher told me to cook this one at 180 C for 1 ½ hours. He also told me about flavourings to add to the chook, but I decided that after watching my Mum do this for many, many years that I would do what she does. 

First, I trimmed some of the excess skin from around the entrance of the cavity, then I roughly chopped a large lemon and squeezed the juice from it and rubbed it around the inside of the cavity. This will help to flavour the meat from the inside. 

Then I stuffed the cavity with the lemon, 1 small onion, the garlic and some sprigs of thyme. After mixing some room temperature butter with some tarragon and a little thyme, I carefully slid my fingers between the flesh and the skin of the chicken and stuffed it with the herb butter.

 I then rubbed the chicken all over with extra virgin olive oil, seasoned it with salt and pepper and put it in the oven. 1 ½ hours later, look what I made!

Ok, the skin shrank, I think this is because I trimmed too much skin from the opening to the cavity. I also didnt truss the chicken because, well I forgot and I dont know how to do it properly. Project for another post maybe? But just look at how crisp the skin is! The juice in the bottom of the pan would have made the best roast potatoes too..
The satisfaction I felt can be best described by watching this scene from Amelie. The roast chicken part, not the receiving a long lost box of childhood keepsakes.

I tore a leg off, removed the oysters and ate it with some steamed asparagus dressed with lemon juice.  It was wonderful, the lemon, garlic and herbs had permeated the entire chicken and the flesh was moist and so, well chickeny! This, I believe is mostly attributed to the chicken I used. All that running around in the Barossa Valley, happy as a clam made this chicken extra tasty and me satisfied that my dinner had such a great life.


Roast Chicken with Lemon, Garlic and Herb Butter


I whole free range chicken – I used a 600g Barossa “Bannockburn”
1 lemon roughly cut in 4
1 small onion roughly cut in 4
4 cloves of garlic, whole and no need to peel
75 g salted butter, softened
A few sprigs of fresh thyme on their stalks
Approximately 1 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
Approx 1 tsp fresh tarragon, finely chopped
Modest splash of extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and pepper to taste


Pre-heat oven to 180 C. Cooking times and temperature may vary from chicken to chicken, always read the packet or check with your butcher the best time for cooking your bird of choice.
Pat chicken down with paper towel until dry. This will ensure a crispy skin.
Squeeze juice from the lemon directly into the cavity and rub around the inside. Trim any excess skin form the entrance to the cavity and stuff the onion, lemon, garlic and thyme sprigs directly into the cavity.
Truss together the legs using cooking string to prevent your stuffing from falling out as the chicken cooks.
Add the chopped thyme and tarragon to the butter and mix well. 
Very carefully make a pocket between the breast flesh and the skin by working your fingers under the skin. If you have a fresh manicure and don’t fancy doing this, a wooden spoon will work nicely. Push the butter mix under the skin and spread this all over the breast of the chicken. 
Pour the olive oil over the chicken and rub it into the outside of the skin. Season with salt and pepper. 
Place the chicken on a roasting rack over a deep pan and place in the oven.
 After an hour and a half, pierce the chicken with a sharp knife. If the juices run clear, it is done.
Take the chicken out of the oven, cover with foil and leave to rest for at least 10 minutes.