My How to Make Roast Chicken guide provides step by step instructions and photographs to help you prepare a raw chicken and cook it simply. Once you master a basic roast chicken, the uses and variations are endless.
Preheat the oven to 220c or equivalent and line a small roasting pan with foil and parchment. A snug fit is desirable.
Use kitchen roll to pat a 1.8kg Chicken fully dry then rest it on a plastic chopping board for the preparation procedure.
Use a good pair of kitchen scissors to snip off any string holding the chicken together. Keeping it trussed is a sure-fire way to end up with under-cooked thighs and over-cooked breasts. No one wants that.
Cut off both of the wingtips through the joint. Leave the rest of the wing intact and attached.
Turn the chicken and cut off both the drumstick ends. Again you can cut through the joint. You should not have to try to cut through any bone.
Flip the chicken over and cut a 'V' to remove the parsons nose (the polite term for the chicken ass bit).
Turn the chicken again and use the same 'V' cut to remove what remains of the neck bone.
Right the bird then cut away any flabby bits of skin around the openings at both ends.
Move the chicken to the lined tin and use your hands to fully coat the chicken with 4 tbsp Olive Oil and 1 tbsp Sea Salt Flakes.
Pop the chicken in the oven and leave for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and drain any juices into a bowl or saucepan.
Leave the chicken in the oven for another 30 minutes. Take the chicken out again and drain any further juices.
Check the chicken is cooked though by making a split with a knife where the thigh meets the breast. If there is any pink visible, put the chicken back in to cook for another 10 minutes.
Keep repeating until all the pink is gone. Once cooked, cover the chicken with foil and leave it to rest for at least 20 minutes.
The chicken can then be served however you intend or left to fully cool before being refrigerated.
Notes
Important! If you have adjusted the serving size/size of chicken in this recipe, the cooking time will vary. A larger bird will take longer to cook and a smaller one will take less.