Roasting A Bird - A Mothering Clucking Good Recipe
Roasting A Bird
A Mothering Clucking Good Recipe
Whether you are religious or not, Easter is a holiday celebrated by many all over the country. Families getting together, sitting around a table and enjoying a lovely meal. Like most things over the next few months – Easter will be celebrated a little differently this year. But that doesn't mean to say that you shouldn't pull out the stops. It's so important right now to try and stay positive make the most of these special occasions.
The most traditional go-to cut of meat for Easter is obviously lamb, but I've got to say that lamb isn't really for me - I'm more of a roast chicken or beef kind of gal. Roasting a chicken seems so simple on the surface – but there's an art to it. I've tried and tested many ways to cook a chicken and here are my favourites.
SIMPLE AND FAFF FREE:
Using a roasting bag is great, and you can't really go wrong here – the bird is always super juicy and full of flavour. This is a sure winner in many eyes - all you need to do is set a timer et VOILA. However, it's one downfall is that you don't get a crispy skin unless you put the chicken back in the oven after you've removed it from the bag. But, that can become slightly messy due to all the moisture remaining in the bag. You also don't get the sucre (brown bits left in the pan) created that you need for the deep flavour of a gravy.
TRIED TESTED AND MY FAVOURITE METHOD:
Lemon
1 onion
2 carrots
1 stick of celery
3 garlic cloves
Herbs: Bay leaves Rosemary Thyme
Salt
Black Pepper
Olive Oil
Ensure your chicken is at room temperature before it goes into the oven - this is because the meat cooks more evenly and fewer juices leak out or evaporate during the cooking process.
A perfectly roasted chicken, of course, requires the enhancement of some herbs. Season the bird well with salt, pepper and olive oil, inside the caucus too. Put a lemon in a microwave for 30 seconds, then pierce the lemon a few times and put inside the bird along with a bunch of thyme, rosemary and a couple bay leaves.
Heat the oven to fan 240 degrees.
Either use a deep-dish baking tray, or I use a large deep pan. Add a little oil to the pan or tray, add 1 chopped onion, 2 roughly chopped carrot, 1 piece of chopped celery and 3 bashed garlic cloves -season with salt and pepper.
Place the bird in the pan on its side, so a wing is facing upwards – if it doesn't stay up by itself, prop it up against the side of the tray. Place the chicken in the oven and immediately turn the heat down to 200 degrees. The reason for doing this is because when we open the oven door, the temperature drops, thus starting it off at 240 degrees ensures the chicken will start to cook at the required temp of 200.
Cook the chicken for 20 mins on one side, then take the pan out if the oven, and turn the chicken to the other wing, baste with the juices and return to the oven for another 20 mins. After the 20 minutes turn the chicken so its breast side up and cook for a further 40 minutes – (this is size dependant).
There are two easy ways to check if the chicken is cooked. The inside temperature of the meat should reach 75 degrees C, or if you don't have a meat thermometer handy then check the juices from the meat run out clear.
Once the chicken is cooked, remove and leave the bird to rest while you get on with the gravy! All the elements of a roast are important, but they are brought together by the perfect gravy. Spoon out 90% of the fat from the pan, this is the layer of grease that has formed on top of the juices.
Put the pan the chicken was cooked in on the hob on medium-high heat, and add a good amount of red wine, around 200 ml. Use a good quality wine here, one rule for using wine in cooking – IF YOU WOULDN'T DRINK IT, DON'T COOK WITH IT.
If your original pan doesn't go on the hob, then simply empty the contents of it into something that does with the red wine, including the vegetables. IMPORTANT: Ensure you scrape off all the goodness from the bottom of the pan the chicken was cooked in - this is the flavour! Bring it to the boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and add chicken stock, about 1 litre. While this is reducing, make a simple roux.
Once the gravy has been simmering for 15mins, strain it through a sieve into a clean pan to remove the veg and herbs. Mix the roux into the gravy to thicken it – keep it simmering until you have the desired consistency, this is a personal preference.
And there you have – the perfect chicken and gravy!