Sunday
The perfect roast chicken
The chicken I've evolved into over years — herb butter pushed under the skin, lemon and rosemary in the cavity, trussed and tucked and roasted until the skin shatters. Recipe by Chef Nagi Maehashi.
The trick is butter under the skin AND into the legs. Everything else is patience.
Method
- 01
Heat the oven to 200°C fan. Pat the chicken completely dry, inside and out — dry skin is crisp skin.
- 02
Mash the soft butter with the rosemary, lemon zest, grated garlic, salt and pepper until you have a green herb paste.
- 03
Slide your fingers under the skin at the neck end, working carefully over the breasts, down toward the thighs and drumsticks — do not tear the skin. Push about two thirds of the butter under the skin and smoosh it around evenly. Push a little butter down into each leg.
- 04
Rub the remaining butter all over the outside of the chicken. Tuck the lemon halves, rosemary sprigs and garlic into the cavity.
- 05
Truss the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body so nothing burns.
- 06
Sit on a rack in a roasting tin. Roast for 1 hour 15 minutes, basting once at the halfway mark, until the skin is deep golden and the juices from the thigh run clear (or 74°C on a thermometer).
- 07
Lift onto a warm board, tent loosely with foil and rest for 20 minutes. Never skip the rest — the juices settle back into the meat.
- 08
Carve and finish with olive oil and flaky salt. Spoon over the pan juices from the tin.
Keep cooking
