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Sunday 7 February 2021

Sunday Roast Dinner : Classic Roast Chicken and Gravy


Here we have a classic Roast Chicken recipe suggestion, surely everyone's favourite! Well it is in our house!

Chicken's many plus points - its versatility, as well as the ease with which it can be cooked - make it one of the most popular meats around. It has a high level of good quality protein, as well as B vitamins, iron, copper and selenium.

Ingredients
Serves Four
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
1 free range chicken, about 1½ kg/3lb 5oz
1 lemon, halved
small bunch thyme (optional)
For the gravy
1 tbsp. plain flour
250ml chicken stock (a cube is fine)

Method
1. Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Have a shelf ready in the middle of the oven without any shelves above it. Scatter the vegetables over the base of a roasting tin that fits the chicken, but doesn’t swamp it.
2. Season the cavity of the chicken liberally with salt and pepper, then stuff with the lemon halves and thyme, if using. Sit the chicken on the vegetables, smother the breast and legs all over with the butter, then season the outside with salt and pepper.
3. Place in the oven and leave, undisturbed, for 1 hr 20 minutes – this will give you a perfectly roasted chicken. To check, pierce the thigh with a skewer and the juices should run clear. Remove the tin from the oven and, using a pair of tongs, lift the chicken to a dish or board to rest for 15-20 minutes. As you lift the dish, let any juices from the chicken pour out of the cavity into the roasting tin.
4. While the chicken is resting, make the gravy. Place the roasting tin over a low flame, then stir in the flour and sizzle until you have a light brown, sandy paste. Gradually pour in the stock, stirring all the time, until you have a thickened sauce. Simmer for 2 minutes, using a wooden spoon to stir, scraping any sticky bits from the tin. Strain the gravy into a small saucepan, then simmer and season to taste. When you carve the bird, add any extra juices to the gravy.

Nutrition per serving
4g Carbs 40g Fat 49g Protein
From original idea here

Cooking Tips
Always leave your chicken to rest for at least 15 mins before carving. This will give you a juicy chicken that is a lot easier to carve. For a more succulent chicken, take it out of the fridge one hour before cooking to bring it up to room temperature. This rule applies to any meat you are roasting.

Suggestions For Side Dishes (optional)
Cauliflower, Leek and Cheese Gratin - see here
Red Roasted Carrots - see here
Roasted Celeriac and Brussels Sprouts - see here


Dear reader, you will find a variety of recipe suggestions within this blog, and not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan

38 comments:

Victor S E Moubarak said...

You've described tomorrow's roast. Thanx.

God bless.

Conniecrafter said...

We eat a lot of roasted chicken here!

Martha said...

Always yummy!

Practical Parsimony said...

I love chicken and it is only meat besides turkey I can eat because I am allergic to mammal meat. Thankfully, Chicken and turkey were my favorite meats.

William Kendall said...

Sounds good!

Tanza Erlambang said...

I always eat roast chicken...at least, once a week.
thank you for sharing recipe....

Have a great weekend

Tom said...

...as a boy this is what we had every Sunday.

Karen @ Beatrice Euphemie said...

This does look so delicious and comforting, too. I remember my Grandmother serving this whenever we were invited over for Sunday dinner. Thank you for the tips on bringing it to room temperature and leaving it to sit before carving - something I did not know! I can almost smell it cooking....Thank you for your kind comments and visits, dear friend. Hope your weekend is lovely. xx K

Elephant's Child said...

Thanks for the suggestion. I may make one for himself.

Margaret D said...

Looks good and I have at this moment got a chook in the oven roasting/baking for dinner this evening..

Anonymous said...

That sure looks tasty!

Elderberry-Rob said...

as a veggie i won't enjoy eating it but will be cooking the above for the men today, useful tip about letting the chicken rest before cutting, thanks.. and, as I have bought way too many sprouts, I am going to roast them, inspired by the recipe linky - thanks :)

CJ Kennedy said...

Yum!

Natalia said...

Perfect dinner, if you ask me! Yum!

linda said...

Sounds perfect 😊

Iris Flavia said...

Yum! Just... our oven smells rather bad after having this - even a "bio-chicken" smells bad - any tips?

Jo said...

We rarely have a roast dinner on a Sunday, it stems back to the many years I worked every Sunday. We did have a roast chicken dinner last Wednesday though, a favourite here.

Ygraine said...

What a fabulous dinner...it reminds me of the Sunday lunches of my childhood!😊😊
We haven't had a Sunday roast for ages, so I think this will be the one for next weekend! Thank you so much for the prompt!!😉

So cold today, isn't it! Keep warm, my friends, and stay safe.

Hugs xxx

Teresa said...

El pollo asado está muy bueno. Besos.

Hootin Anni said...

My favorite way to fix chicken...roasting one.

Jeanie said...

I love a roast chicken (there are always leftovers!) And I haven't had one in a long while. Thanks for the reminder. I hope your weekend is terrific.

JFM said...

Two thumbs up👍👍

DVArtist said...

Sunday's here are pretty much fend for yourself. However, Friday I made an airfry chicken dinner. Sooo good.

Bill said...

That was a Sunday dinner when I was growing up.

HappyK said...

mmmm that looks delicious.

Rain said...

Jan, those flowers are beautiful! Oh roasted chicken...I haven't had one since last summer. Alex went vegetarian so I rarely buy meat for myself. But now I'm craving a nice roasted chicken with gravy and mashed 'taters! :)

Luiz Gomes said...

Boa tarde. Essa foto deu muita água na boca.

Buttercup said...

My, this looks good. A whole chicken is too much for me, but I'll be cooking chicken this week. Thinking of a curry. Take care!

Salty Pumpkin Studio said...

Brings back memories when roasted chicken was always on the menu

Sue said...

You can't beat a good roast chicken. It's the perfect Sunday dinner. Take care and have a great week, Sue xx

Christine said...

A classic for sure! Love the flowers.

At Home In New Zealand said...

We always stuffed our roast chickens with halved lemons. It isn't something you often hear about, but we loved the flavour it gave them. Enjoy :)

Magic Love Crow said...

My mouth is watering! So good! Thanks Jan! Big Hugs!

Martha said...

This looks delicious!

J C said...

I am going to try your protein pot, but find a different dressing (sodium count). Thanks for the tip. xo

mamasmercantile said...

A classic and a favourite here, we had it yesterday. Chicken and leek pie for today.

Rose said...

That roast chicken looks delicious. I have not fixed one in a long time, and we used to love them. I love to bake one in the summer and them put it in the fridge to have cold roast chicken sandwiches...

Lowcarb team member said...

Iris Flavia said...
Yum! Just... our oven smells rather bad after having this - even a "bio-chicken" smells bad - any tips?

Hello Iris, many thanks for your comment and question.

I noticed Nigella has some tips regarding this, which I share here.

"Whilst the smell of roast chicken is quite enticing while the bird is in the oven, it can be a little off-putting the next day. One of the first steps to take is to make sure that your kitchen is well-ventilated while the chicken is roasting so that there are no lingering smells in the room the next day. The main source of the smell is likely to be chicken fat which will spit from the chicken during cooking, particularly if grilling (broiling) the chicken. You may find it helpful to grill the chicken slightly further away from the heat source of the grill, the chicken will take slightly longer to cook, though should spit less.

For cleaning the oven usually a paste of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) is effective. You may find that fat is collecting above the heat source so you will need to wait for this to cool completely before cleaning the top of the oven. Another alternative is to use a mixture of coarse salt and lemon juice as the salt acts as a mild abrasive and the lemon juice will cut any grease in the oven, as well as improving the smell. Any cleaners should be completely removed with a cloth and plenty of clean water.

Please check your oven handbook before using any oven cleaner - either home-made or bought - as some ovens have special coatings which can be damaged by acids or abrasive materials."

https://www.nigella.com/ask/removing-oven-smells

Hope this helps.

All the best Jan