Herby butter roast chicken
Are you tired of eating dry ol’ chicken? Are you looking for a delicious, moist, herby chicken that drips in beautiful delicious goodness. Well, my friend, the answer to all of your problems is here. And it’s butter.
Lots and lots of butter.
The secret to moist meat is making sure you’re rubbing butter right in between the skin and letting that cook through as your chicken roasts in the oven. By making a compound butter before (a fancy word for mixing herbs in your butter) you can also get a heap of beautiful flavours into your bird.
This is a delicious roast for Sunday or any day of the week. Get it on your plate with your roasties, carrots and veggies, pour over your gravy and have the best day ever. Or if you’re anything like me, dip your bread into the chicken fat and make yourself a delicious roast chicken sandwich.
Keep the leftovers for pastas, salads, sandwiches or my Caesar salad recipe coming soon.
Ingredients
- 1.9kg chicken
- 150g salted butter, softened
- 3 sprigs rosemary
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 2 sprigs sage
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 1 tsp garlic puree or 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 bulb of garlic, halved
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180ºc/350ºf. Finely chop your rosemary, sage and thyme, then in a bowl mix together your softened butter, herbs, lemon zest and juice, garlic puree, salt and pepper.
- Use your fingers to gently separate the skin from the chicken away from the breasts and thighs, taking care not to poke too many holes in it. Stuff your softened compound butter in the gap between the skin and the flesh until it is an even layer.
- Season the chicken skin heavily with salt and place into a deep roasting dish. Push the halved bulb of garlic plus the juiced lemon and any leftover herb stalks into the cavity of the bird.
- Roast the chicken for 1 hour and then use a spoon to baste all of the buttery juices over the breasts and legs. Return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes until crispy and golden brown all over.
- Remove the chicken from the tray and leave to rest on a board for atleast 10 minutes, but longer if you can. Take off the legs of the chicken and then carve the breast into slices and enjoy with the delicious buttery juices poured all over the top.