Simply The Best Roast Chicken

Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins Preparation Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 whole roasting chicken (free range or organic for flavour!)
• 1 bunch fresh tarragon (not dried!)
• 1 whole lemon, cut in half
• 4 ounces butter, softened
• 1 cup dry white
• 1 garlic clove, crushed

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 450f/230c/gas mark 8.
• 2 smear the butter thickly over the entire chicken.
• 3 pop the chicken into a roasting tin, squeeze the lemon halves over chicken - retaining the squeezed skins.
• 4 stuff the cavity with the tarragon, crushed garlic clove and squeezed lemon halves.
• 5 season the chicken liberally with sea salt and crushed black pepper.
• 6 pour the cup of dry white into the pan and pop the chicken in the oven.
• 7 roast for 15 minutes on 450f and then turn the oven down to 375f/190c/gas mark 5 and roast for a further 30-45 minutes.
• 8 the chicken is done when golden brown and the skin is crispy. by this point you should have lots of buttery brown sauce in the bottom of the pan.
• 9 turn off the oven and leave the door ajar for 15 minutes to relax the bird before carving.
• 10 once plated, pour the pan juices over the chicken.