Sunday Roast Chicken

With PamPennyPippa
Where Our kitchen, Melbourne
20m prep 90m cook 4 servings
#chicken#Sunday#family dinners#winter#Penny helped

This became our Sunday ritual in the first winter after Pippa was born. Penny would help press the herbs under the skin — her small hands were perfect for it — while Pam fed Pippa on the couch nearby. The smell of it roasting still feels like that particular kind of Sunday quiet.

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 1 whole free-range chicken, about 1.8kg
  • 1 lemon, halved
  • 1 head of garlic, halved crosswise
  • A few sprigs of thyme and rosemary

Herb butter

  • 80g unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely grated
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • Salt and black pepper

Method

  1. 1

    Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Preheat the oven to 200°C fan.

  2. 2

    Mix the softened butter with the grated garlic, thyme, lemon zest, salt and pepper until well combined.

  3. 3

    Carefully loosen the skin over the breast with your fingers and push most of the herb butter underneath. Rub the remainder over the outside of the bird.

  4. 4

    Stuff the cavity with the halved lemon and garlic head. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine if you like.

  5. 5

    Place in a roasting tin and cook for 1 hour 30 minutes, basting once or twice during cooking. The juices should run clear when you pierce the thigh.

  6. 6

    Rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. Don't skip this.

Notes

Penny likes to pull the crispy skin off before anything else gets served. I've stopped fighting it.