Gemma I’m writing the start of this blog post from Cornwall. It’s late September and we have taken a little family trip to our favourite place. This county fills me with energy every time I visit. Standing with my feet in the sea and breathing in the fresh sea air will never get old. Neither will roast chicken on a Sunday – this recipe is the perfect way to get a succulent, juicy bird with zero fuss.
September Sun
We love the Cornish beaches at this time of year. They are bracing, energising and typically empty. We have all been swimming in the sea and I felt like I was filled with renewed life when I resurfaced from a peaceful swim on my own at the start of the week. 2020 has been a year we will never forget for so many reasons not least because we have extended our family with another little human. As the summer winds down my kitchen gently shifts from one mode to another. Salads become stews, BBQs become roasts; but food continues to to be at the heart of family life.
Homeward Bound
As I planned our return home I wanted an easy Sunday recipe that celebrated the week we had. Soaking up the late September sun, but preparing for autumn and things to come. This perfect garlic and thyme roast chicken recipe is all that and more!
It doesn’t matter what you serve this roast chicken with – it is the star of the show. You can steam some veg and serve with mash, or make a perfect roast chicken sandwich. We kept it as the ideal bridge from summer to autumn and had it with tomato salad (tomatoes from our garden) and baked potatoes… it was so, so good!
The Chicken
My chicken was a Sainsbury’s corn fed, free range bird weighing 1kg. I cooked it slow and importantly I cook it in an cast iron casserole/roasting pot with a lid. This does a brilliant job of evenly browning the humble bird and at the same time, it keeps the moisture locked in so the chicken falls off the bone. We tend to eat meat once a week so this was a real treat!
BBC Good Food says a 1kg chicken takes 1 hour at 200ºC, I cooked mine for 2 hours at 160ºC, the last 20 minutes with the lid off… It resulted in the perfect roast chicken and I wouldn’t change a thing!
Olive Oil Spray
In the video you will see I am spraying the oil on to the chicken – you can drizzle as normal. I am using this great little olive oil spray dispenser in an effort to cut down on our heavy use of olive oil. If you like the look of it, you can buy it here. I love it because you can decant your own oil and the spray action is really effective! I have a tendency to go a bit mad with olive oil so this is a great little tool if you are looking to cut down. You can buy 1cal olive oil sprays but I really dislike the taste. Stick to a good quality extra virgin olive oil in this recipe.
I am always sad to leave Cornwall, getting home to the holiday laundry, the regular routine and the lack of beaches is always suboptimal. This lovely little chicken made everything ok. As we tucked into our dinner we reflected on the magic of the week spent and the promise of the next trip to our favourite place!
Perfect Roast Chicken with Garlic and Thyme
Equipment
- Cast iron casserole/roasting pot or similar
Ingredients
- 1 kg whole chicken ideally free range and corn fed
- 1 whole bulb of garlic
- 3 sprigs of thyme
- extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt
- black pepper
Instructions
- Place your chicken in a cast iron casserole/roasting pot or similar. It is important that the bird fits in the dish with the lid on. I also take my chicken out of the fridge for 30 minutes beforehand so that it’s not chilled at the point of cooking.
- Drizzle or spray the chicken with extra virgin olive oil
- Sprinkle sea salt on to the chicken – roughly 1/2 tsp
- Sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper and the leaves from three sprigs of thyme.
- Break the bulb of garlic in half and add to the pot.
- Spray the sides of the enamel pot with olive oil and put the lid on the pot. This extra oil is only necessary if you have used an olive oil spray dispenser like me. If you have drizzled your oil there will be more oil in the pot.
- Place your pot on the middle shelf of a pre heated oven 160ºC Fan/Gas 4/ 350ºF
- Roast for 2 hours. 1hr 40 minutes with the lid on. Take the lid off for the last 20 minutes
- Once the 2 hours are up, remove the pot from the oven. Check that the chicken is cooked and then leave to rest in the pot, lid off, for 15 minutes. This is important because the meat will be much more tender once it has rested. You can see in the video I am easing the dark meat from the carcass with a fork, that’s how tender it is.
- While the chicken rests you can finish your sides. I made a simple salad and served the chicken with baked potatoes… Incidentally the potatoes baked in the oven, wrapped in foil, for the same length of time as the chicken
- Carve/shred your chicken ready to serve
- NB: The juices from the bottom of the pot are full of flavour, they would make a perfect base for your gravy. On this occasion I drizzled some of the juices over the potatoes which was a real treat.
Video
Notes
A place at your table
As Family Feed grows we want to share the food you cook with our community. They don’t have to be your own recipes. So long as they are meals that have a place at your table, we want to cook them!
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Hi Brent and Lynne, we are so pleased to hear you have tried and enjoyed this recipe. It is so simple and yet really rewarding especially when you have limited time to spend in the kitchen. Thank you so much for your support and trying our recipes, we have been so moved that you have been following and supporting us. Hope you are all doing well! Gem & Jim x x