Mary Berrys French Roast Chicken Recipes

SUPER SIMPLE FRENCH ROAST CHICKEN RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 350F - use the convection setting if you have it.
• Start with a whole chicken, about 3.5-4 lbs.
• Remove the insides. Your bagged chicken might have a neck and gizzards inside the cavity. Reach your hand inside and pull them out. You can wear a glove if you prefer. You can discard the neck and the gizzards unless you are planning to make chicken Soup with the carcass - in that case keep the neck to add to the bouillon for flavor.
• Pat down the chicken with a paper towel or clean kitchen towel. Removing the moisture helps to make a crispy skin!
• Set the chicken in a roasting pan greased with olive oil. I use a pan big enough with space around it for the potatoes (Roasted Chicken is always served with potatoes in France!)
• Inside the chicken cavity add the Rosemary, sage and thyme for flavor as well as several cloves of garlic and a pinch of coarse salt.
• Using cooking twine, tie the legs together. This is not necessary but a chicken does look more elegant with her knees together...!
• Sprinkle coarse salt over the top of the chicken
• Drizzle 1/4 cup of olive oil generously over the chicken.
• Slice a whole head of garlic, skin on, in half (width wise) and place each half on opposite sides of the pan (skin side down)
• Arrange the diced potatoes around the chicken and garlic.
• Add the remaining olive oil over the garlic and potatoes.
• Place 3 tablespoons of butter around the potatoes. (Using butter as well as olive oil on the potatoes makes for the most amazing crispy potatoes!)
• Place your roasting pan on the middle rack of your oven. Set the timer for 1 hour 45 minutes
• Halfway though, take the roasting pan out of the oven and give the potatoes a stir so that they brown on all sides. Spoon some of the liquid at the bottom of the pan over the chicken to keep it moist. Set the chicken back in the oven and leave it alone until time is up!
• Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest in the pan for 20 minutes before serving.

MARY BERRY'S FRENCH ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Put the bunch of herbs and 30g (1oz) of the butter into the cavity of the chicken. Tie the legs together with string. Weigh the chicken and calculate the roasting time at 20 minutes per 500g (1lb), plus an extra 20 minutes. Rub the remaining butter all over the chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put the chicken, breast-side down, into a small roasting tin. Pour the stock into the bottom of the tin, and cover the chicken with buttered greaseproof paper or foil. Roast in a preheated oven at 190°C (170°C fan, Gas 5) for the calculated time. At regular intervals, baste the chicken and turn it first on to one side, then on to the other, and finally on to its back. Check that the chicken is done, then transfer to a warmed serving platter, and cover with foil. Leave the chicken to rest for about 15 minutes, then carve and serve with the cooking juices, boiled in the roasting tin with some red or white wine, and the roasted garlic. ROASTING GARLIC METHOD Cut the stalk ends off 4 heads of garlic, arrange in an oiled baking dish, and drizzle a little olive oil over the tops. Cook in a preheated oven at 190°C (170°C fan, Gas 5) for 45-60 minutes. To eat, squeeze the soft cloves of garlic from the papery skins. Cals per serving: 433 CREDIT: Mary Berry's Complete Cookbook is published by DK, 7 September 2017, £30.00.

ROAST CHICKEN WITH TARRAGON BUTTER AND MELTING ONIONS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
• Mix the butter, garlic, ginger, tarragon and lemon zest in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper.
• Loosen the skin of the chicken breast by gently pushing your fingers between the skin and the meat, taking care not to break the skin. Using your hand, spread the butter under the skin in an even layer.
• Transfer the chicken to a roasting tin and scatter the onions around it. Rub a little oil over the skin and legs, and season.
• Roast for about 1½ hours, or until the chicken is cooked. The chicken is cooked through when the juices run clear with no trace of pink when the thickest part of the leg, between the drumstick and the thigh, is pierced with a skewer. Transfer to a board to rest. Remove the onions to a hot serving bowl.
• To make the gravy, sprinkle the flour over the fat in the roasting tin and whisk until combined. Pour in the wine and stock and whisk over a medium heat until thickened and smooth. Whisk in the redcurrant jelly, Worcestershire sauce and gravy browning, if using. Pour through a sieve into a jug, stir in the tarragon and season with salt and pepper.
• Carve the chicken and serve with the onions and gravy.