Poulet rôti (Roast chicken)

Poulet rôti (Roast chicken)

Servings:	Serves 4
Ready in:	1 hour, 50 minutes + 30 minutes resting time
Prep. time:	15 minutes
Cook time:	1 hour, 35 minutes
Difficulty:

The traditional French method of roasting a chicken.

Ingredients

Printable 🖨 shopping 🛒 list & 👩‍🍳 method for this recipe

• 1 x 1.5kg chicken
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 30g softened butter
• A few cloves of garlic, peeled
• 2 x further ¼ teaspoons salt

For basting

• 30g melted butter
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

Mise en place

• Pre-heat the oven to 220° C (425° F - gas 7), [fan oven 200° C & reduce cooking time by 10 mins per hour].

Method

1. Sprinkle the inside of the chicken with ¼ teaspoons salt.
2. Smear the inside with half of the butter.
3. Add the garlic cloves to the cavity.
4. Place the chicken, breast side up on a rack in a roasting tin.
5. Rub it with the remaining half of the butter.
6. Put into the middle of the pre-heated oven and roast for 5 minutes.
7. Turn the chicken onto one of the breasts, baste with some of the butter and oil and roast for a further 5 minutes.
8. Repeat the process, turning it onto the other breast.
9. After 5 minutes, leaving the chicken on its side, reduce the heat to 180° C (350° F - gas 4), [fan oven 160° C & reduce cooking time by 10 mins per hour].
10. Baste every 10 minutes.
11. Half-way through the estimated roasting time, salt the chicken with ¼ teaspoons salt and turn it onto the other breast.
12. Continue basting.
13. 15 minutes before the end, salt again and turn so that it is breast up.
14. Continue basting.
15. When cooked, wrap in foil and allow to rest for 30 minutes before carving.

Serving suggestions

Serve with roast potatoes and vegetables, or eat when cold with salad.

Recipe source

• Lightly adapted from a recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Simone Beck, Louisette Bertholle & Julia Child.