Sunday is roast day, this recipe cooks the chicken on top of an opened can of beer, which keeps the chicken nice and moist.
Difficulty: Medium
Time: 30min prep, 2hrs cooking
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Roast Chicken
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 can of beer
- 2 tbsp of fresh thyme leaves
- 8 tbsp of melted butter
- salt
- pepper
Brining Liquid
- 1 ltr water
- 70g salt
Roasted Root Vegetables
- 2 potatoes
- 2 carrots
- 1 leek
- 1 swede
- 4 tbsp butter
- salt
- pepper
- fresh thyme
Chicken Jus
- 3 chicken wings
- unsalted chicken stock
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1 cup of fennel stalks chopped
- 1 cup of carrots chopped
- 1/2 onion finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic finely chopped
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 bay leaf
- small bunch of fresh thyme
- 6 tbsp butter
- 4 tbsp flour
- oil - salt
- pepper
Method
The night prior, melt 70g of salt in 1ltr of water to make a brining liquid for the chicken. Submerge the whole chicken in the brining liquid and leave in the fridge overnight. There are a lot of aromatics and herbs that you can also add to the brining liquid, but I was lazy in this instance. Brining is the most important step in a roast chicken as it helps keep the chicken moist during the cooking process.
1. Take the chicken out of the fridge, discard the brining liquid and bring it to room temperature.
2. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Cut up the chicken wings into smaller pieces, score the flesh and skin, coat it well with oil, salt and pepper and cook it in the oven for 45min until it's nicely caramelised and golden.
3. Add 2 tbsp of butter in a small pot, add finely chopped garlic and onions and cook over medium heat until softened. Add chopped fennel and carrots, cook for 5min until softened, before adding the chicken wings, fresh thyme, salt and pepper and further cook for 5min. Add the red wine, and cook until half of the liquid is evaporated, before adding the chicken stock and bay leaf. Gently simmer over low heat for 90min.
3. Thoroughly dry the chicken with kitchen towels. Carefully separate the skin from the breast meat without tearing it. Add the fresh thyme leaves, salt and pepper to 8 tbsp of butter and rub it well between the skin and the breast meat as well as all over the skin of the chicken, season generously with salt and pepper.
4. Open a can of beer and tip out 1/3 of the liquid. Insert the beer can into the cavity of the chicken and sit it upright inside a large roasting tray. Put it inside the oven and cook at 200 degrees for 10min to brown the skin, before reducing it to 180 degrees. Cook for approximately 1 hour, or till the internal temperature has reached 75 degrees.
4. Cut the roasting vegetables into smaller pieces (approx. 2x2cm). Mix well with butter, salt, pepper and fresh thyme. Open the oven and add it to the roasting tray when there is 45min of cooking time left.
5. Take out the chicken and roasted vegetables once cooked. Leave the chicken on a wooden chopping board to rest for 10-15min and tip the roasting liquid into the sauce.
5. Add 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar to the sauce and make final adjustments to the flavour. In a separate small pan, add 4 tbsp of flour to 4 tbsp of melted butter over medium heat and mix well until it forms a smooth paste to make a roux. Add the mixture to the chicken jus and mix well over low heat to thicken the sauce. Pass the chicken jus through a sieve before serving.
Enjoy!
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