Cooking the perfect roast chicken for Christmas

There has been much talk in the media this year about the trend towards people choosing Chicken over Turkey for Christmas lunch due to the rising food and electricity costs. We of course are all for this trend and have always preferred the flavour of a chicken. As Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall put it recently, chicken is ‘‘lighter on the pocket and quicker in the oven” than the traditional turkey. Of course we are biased, but nothing makes a more satisfying and delicious meal than a perfectly roasted chicken. Fearnley-Whittingstall opened his article for The Daily Mail with “It’s no secret that I don’t eat turkey at Christmas and I know I am not alone in replacing the traditional big bird with something different. So how about a free-range or organic roast chicken instead?”

So, if you are having chicken for Christmas dinner this year, we have shared our classic roast chicken recipe below (simple is best!) as well as some top cooking tips from our co-founder Belinda. You can then jazz it up with all the Christmas trimmings.

If you are sorting your food last minute (no judgement here, we know some years that is just how it is) and haven’t decided what meat to cook, then this might help your decision. If you are on the fence between turkey and chicken because you are worried that a chicken won’t be big enough, here is a quick tip from Belinda: “when I am cooking for a big gathering I sometimes roast two smaller Sutton Hoo chickens that fit into the roasting tin side by side just to make sure so no one goes hungry!”. Fearnley-Whittingstall also endorsed this tip in his recent article agreeing that “two chickens may solve the unseemly fight over who gets a leg”.

Here are some simple tips for perfecting your roast this Christmas:

1.     Don’t put your chicken in the oven straight from the fridge – allow the bird to sit and come to room temperature first.

2.     Ensure that your chicken does not go in the oven wet. Have it uncovered in the fridge for a few hours before cooking to let the skin dry.

3.     For a simple and delicious roast chicken, rub butter (or olive oil) over the breast and legs and season generously with salt and black pepper.

4.     Always place your chicken in a relatively fitted tin. If there’s too much room around the bird, the juices could burn.

5.     Once your chicken is cooked, let it rest on the side for about 15 minutes before carving.

6.  Don’t over cook your chicken! Different sources will tell you a variety of different things, but we agree with chef Diana Henry that it comes down to your oven and the quality of the bird. A proper free range chicken takes less time to cook compared to a factory farmed one. Chicken is cooked when the juices run clear after skewering into the leg, if they are pink it is undercooked and you should cook it for a further ten minutes and then try again. We have found that 15 minutes per 450g of weight, plus an extra 20 minutes, in a preheated oven at 180°c/350°F (gas mark 4) is the best way to roast a Sutton Hoo Chicken.

Our Recipe for a Classic Roast Chicken

I always roast my chicken with either a whole lemon or onion in its cavity to add flavour. Nothing beats a whole Sutton Hoo chicken, generously slathered in butter or olive oil, served with vegetables, roast potatoes and all your favourite Christmas trimmings!

Ingredients:

1 Whole Free-Range Sutton Hoo Chicken

Whole lemon or onion

125g softened butter

Salt and pepper

Method:

·       Preheat the oven to 180°C, 350° f, or gas mark 4.

·       Pat the chicken dry with kitchen towel and remove the giblets (save these to make stock).

·       Half your lemon or onion and place both halves inside the cavity.

·       Smear the butter all over the chicken and season well to get the perfect crispy skin.

·       Cook for 15 minutes per lbs (450g) plus an extra 20 minutes or until the juices run clear when the deepest part of the thigh is pierced with a thin skewer.

·       Once cooked, take your chicken out of the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes.

·       Serve with traditional roast potatoes and seasonal vegetables, and all your favourite Christmas trimmings!

·       After the meal, to prepare for making your stock, strip all extra meat off the carcass using your hand and place in a bowl ready for your other meals, cover and put in the fridge. Throw the carcass, bones and bits which are left in a large pot, ready to make your stock. You can find the full stock recipe here.