There's minimal prep needed for this easy roast chicken. No trivets, no butter under the skin, just a simple, tasty and juicy roast chicken with a big jug of delicious gravy.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time1 hourhr30 minutesmins
Resting Time10 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr50 minutesmins
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: British
Keyword: easy, How to cook a roast chicken, roast dinner
720ml(3 cups) hot vegetable stockfrom your boiled/steamed vegetables and potatoes
¼tspsalt
¼tspblack pepper
2tbspcornflour/cornstarch
5tbspcold water
¼tspgravy browningoptional
Instructions
Roast Chicken:
Take the chicken out of the refrigerator 30-45 minutes before roasting to take the chill off it.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F (fan).
Place the chicken in a roasting tin (don’t wash it). Drizzle on the oil and rub into the skin with your hands.
1 whole chicken, 1 tbsp olive oil
Sprinkle on the salt, pepper, and thyme and place the two lemon wedges inside the chicken.
½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, ¼ tsp dried thyme, ½ lemon
Place the chicken in the oven for approx. 1 hour 20 to 1 hour 30 minutes – until the skin is golden and the juices run clear (you can test this by inserting a skewer in the thickest part of the thigh – the liquid that runs out should be clear). If you have a temperature probe, the internal temperature should be 75C/165F.
Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes on a warm plate while you make the gravy. If you want the skin to remain crisp, don’t cover the chicken while resting.
Gravy:
For the gravy: Place the roasting tin on the hob and heat over a medium heat (if your roasting dish can’t be placed on the hob, then transfer any meat juices from the tin to a saucepan, scraping up any crispy bits in the tin. You can swill with a little water if you need to.).
meat juices from your roasted chicken
Sprinkle on the crumbled stock cubes, and stir together whilst pouring in the hot vegetable water.
3 chicken stock cubes, 720 ml (3 cups) hot vegetable stock
Bring to the boil and lightly season with salt and pepper.
1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper
Stir in the cornstarch slurry using a whisk, until the gravy thickens.
2 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch, 5 tbsp cold water
Stir in the gravy browning if you like a darker gravy. Allow to bubble then turn off the heat.
Cook for 45 minutes per kg (2.2lbs), plus an extra 20 minutes at 180C/350F - until the internal temperature of the chicken is 75C/165F
If you have a steam-assisted oven:
If you have a steam-assisted oven, cook the chicken at the same temperature as per the recipe card. Add low or medium steam during the whole of the cooking. The circulation of the steam around and inside the chicken will likely reduce the cooking time slightly. For a 1.5kg chicken, I would cook it for around 10 or 15 minutes less (so around 1 hour 10 minutes). Always ensure the chicken is cooked throughout, no longer pink and the juices run clear.Nutritional information is per serving.