Recipe
Whole roast chicken with pan gravy
The Sunday centerpiece: a salted, air-dried bird roasted hot then gentle for shatteringly crisp skin and juicy meat, with a proper gravy whisked up from the pan drippings.
Whole roast chicken with pan gravy takes about 100 minutes and makes 4 servings. Each serving has 660 kcal.
- Preparation
- 20 minutes
- Cooking
- 80 minutes
- Total time
- 100 minutes
- Servings
- 4
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 660 kcal
- Protein
- 55 g
- Carbohydrates
- 6 g
- Fat
- 45 g
Ingredients
- Whole chicken1.6 kg
- Coarse sea salt1 tbsp
- Butter40 g
- Lemon1 pc
- Garlic4 cloves
- Thyme and rosemary1 pinch
- All-purpose flour2 tbsp
- Chicken stock300 ml
- Salt1 pinch
- Pepper1 pinch
Instructions
- 1
Heat the oven to 230 °C.
- 2
Pat the chicken completely dry, salt it generously all over and inside, and refrigerate uncovered for at least 1 hour - overnight if you can.
Tip: Dry skin is the whole secret to crisp skin - the fridge acts like a gentle fan, wicking away moisture the oven would otherwise waste time steaming off.
- 3
Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before roasting so it loses its chill.
- 4
Stuff the cavity with the halved lemon, garlic cloves and herbs, tie the legs together and rub the skin with the softened butter.
- 5
Roast breast-up in a snug pan for 20 minutes at 230 °C, until the skin starts to bronze.
- 6
Lower the oven to 180 °C and roast for another 40 minutes.
- 7
Check doneness: a thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh (not touching bone) should read 75 °C and the juices should run clear. If not, give it 10 more minutes and test again.
- 8
Move the chicken to a board and rest it, loosely tented with foil, for 15 minutes.
Tip: Skip the rest and the juices flood the board the moment you carve - 15 minutes lets them settle back into the meat.
- 9
Set the roasting pan over medium heat, spoon off all but 2 tablespoons of fat, whisk the flour into the drippings and cook for about 90 seconds, stirring constantly.
- 10
Whisk in the stock in stages, scraping up the browned bits, and simmer for a few minutes, stirring, until the gravy coats a spoon.
- 11
Season the gravy, carve the chicken and serve with the gravy poured over.
Cooking methods
On the stove
The bird roasts in the oven; the gravy is stove work. Keep the roasting pan at a moderate heat so the flour toasts golden, not black, and deglaze while the pan is hot - the browned bits lift off in seconds.
On induction
For the gravy, set the pan on level 5 for the roux and drop to 4 for the simmer. If your roasting pan is not induction-compatible, scrape the drippings into a regular saucepan first.
Over an open fire
Superb on a covered kettle grill or in a large Dutch oven: high embers for the first 20 minutes, then fewer coals for the rest, turning the pot occasionally. Make the gravy in a pan set directly on the embers.
Recipe questions
- How long does this recipe take?
- Plan for about 100 minutes from start to finish.
- How many servings does this recipe make?
- This recipe makes 4 servings.
- Can I cook this recipe on induction?
- Yes. For the gravy, set the pan on level 5 for the roux and drop to 4 for the simmer. If your roasting pan is not induction-compatible, scrape the drippings into a regular saucepan first.
- Can I cook this recipe over an open fire?
- Yes. Superb on a covered kettle grill or in a large Dutch oven: high embers for the first 20 minutes, then fewer coals for the rest, turning the pot occasionally. Make the gravy in a pan set directly on the embers.
In the app
Cooking the way it should feel
One step on screen, a timer that keeps going, and clear progress until the dish is done.
