Main Meals

Best-ever roast chicken

8
Easy
10 minutes
1 hour 10 minutes
Wine/Spirit Pairing
Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection Chenin Blanc

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Ingredients

Method
  • 2 free-range chickens
  • 2–3 lemons, halved
  • 2 heads garlic, halved
  • 10 g fresh thyme or rosemary
  • 3–4 T olive oil
  • sea salt, to taste
  • 200 g butter

Method

Ingredients

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Make sure the chickens are dry and season inside and out with salt and black pepper.

2. Stuff the cavities with the lemon, garlic and herbs, truss the legs and arrange in a large, deep baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with more salt. Roast for 30–40 minutes until crispy and golden. Reduce the temperature to 180°C and melt the butter in a pan until brown and foamy. Take care not to burn it.

3. Pour the butter over the chickens and baste with the pan juices and butter every 5 minutes for 20–30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked and the juices run clear. Serve immediately.

Cook's note: After roasting many chickens for a Woolworths TV shoot, this method was the winner. Butter-basting gives you DIY rotisserie chicken.

Find more roast chicken recipes here. 

Photographs: Jan Ras
Food assistant: Ellen Schwerdtfeger

Hannah Lewry

Recipe by: Hannah Lewry

Woolworths TASTE’s Food Editor is passionate about conjuring up fresh ideas for fast and easy dishes that taste as great as they look. Turn to her expertise for everything from time-saving mid-week food to lazy weekend meals. You’ll have a lot of fun in the kitchen while you’re about it.

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