I’m in the middle of taste testing some fabulous produce from Westin Gourmet. So, as I cook I am searching on the internet for the best way to showcase the food I’ve been sent. I’ve tried a few ways of cooking roast chicken, including brining (you’ll find my post on that here) and pot roasting. While I haven’t ever made a 7hour roast chicken I’ve TASTED one at The Farm. But you know, I am just a little impatient.

So I found this fabulous review of how to make the ultimate roast chicken done for the Guardian. And, the winner was pre-poached.

So here’s my version.

Ingredients

1 cornfed chicken

A good handful of fresh herbs – bay and rosemary for me this time

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

2 heads of garlic

1 dessert spoon of flour

A glass of white wine

Method

Preheat the oven to 220c

Bring a large pan of water to the boil and plunge the chicken in, breast down. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Take the chicken out, reserve some of the poaching water for gravy. Wrap the chicken in a clean tea towel to dry it.

Put it in a roasting tin and drizzle some olive oil over. Season with salt (to make the skin crisp) and pepper. Fill the cavity with the herbs. Chop the top off the garlic and remove the outer skin. Drizzle with oil

Cook in the oven on full heat for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature down to 180c and finish cooking. I tend to use a rough estimate for cooking times based on weight (20mins per 500g or lb + 20 mins) but then use a meat thermometer to check whether the meat is cooked. I know every other roast chicken recipe suggests you put the heat up at the end…but this seems to work for me every time!

Take the chicken out of the oven and put it in a warm place for 10 minutes while you make gravy.

Drain off most of the fat, leaving meat juices and about a dessert spoon of fat in the pan. Sprinkle flour into the pan and mix in the fat and meat juices. Add about half a glass of white wine and stir over a gentle heat till it thickens and is simmering. Then gradually stir in enough of the poaching liquid to make a gravy – it’s up to you how thick you like your gravy.