How to Make Roast Chicken With Rosemary

What could be tastier than a freshly-roasted chicken, straight from the oven?  The skin is golden, the meat inside is moist and juicy, and the gravy is just the finishing touch.  If you’ve tried a lot of chicken recipes before, but have never quite found ‘the one,’ then today your search ends. 

This recipe can be made in under two hours, and will make your family fall in love with your cooking all over again.  Why spend a fortune at the rotisserie chicken counter when you can make your own in the comfort of you own home?

To make roast chicken with rosemary, you will need:

4 tablespoons olive oil

6 lb fresh whole chicken (get free-range if you’re feeling virtuous!)

5 fresh garlic bulbs (peeled and halved)

Dried rosemary

Half an onion (chopped roughly)

Salt and pepper

Steps:

To begin with, heat your oven at around 450 degrees.  This will give you a quick result and faster cooking time.

While the oven is heating, remove your chicken from the plastic bag.  Remove the giblets and discard (giblets are the organs inside the body cavity).  Do this with a spoon or use gloves, as they are not pleasant to handle.  Thoroughly rinse the chicken under the cold tap, both inside and out, and pat dry.

Next, put half of the chopped onion into the chicken’s cavity, along with a small tablespoon of the dried rosemary.  Remove any unwanted fat and rub olive oil on the skin.  Salt and pepper the skin all over.

Truss the chicken (tie its legs together with a heatproof wire or string to cover the cavity), and then place it in a large baking pan with a wire rack on it.  Place the pan on the lower rack in the oven, with its legs pointing towards the back of the oven (don’t ask us why – our grandmothers used to do this).

For a 6 lb chicken, cook for 15 mins at 400, then turn the heat down to 250 for 1 hour.  For the last 15 mins of cooking, turn the heat up to 450 degrees to crisp the skin.

Meanwhile, add a dash of olive oil to a small skillet.  Heat to medium-high, then add a pinch of rosemary and all the garlic bulbs, and any onion that is left over.  Cook the garlic and onions until tender, 10-15 minutes.  Remove from the heat and put on one side.

Cook the roast chicken uncovered for 15 minutes per pound of meat – so for a 6 lb bird, cook for a total of 1 hour and 30 minutes.  Check with a meat thermometer – the chicken is done when it reads 160 degrees when pushed into the thigh. 

TIP:  If the chicken skin starts to go too brown or looks like it’s burning, cover the bird with aluminum foil to protect it while it finishes cooking.

TIP:  If you don’t have a meat thermometer, open the oven, and carefully make a small cut in the roast chicken’s thigh with a sharp knife.  If the chicken is done, the meat inside will be pure white, with no or little pink.  The juices that flow out should be clear, not pink or red.  If the juices contain blood, the chicken is undercooked.  Cook for a further 15 minutes, then try again.

When done, remove the roast chicken from the oven.  Let it rest for 10 minutes, then place onto a serving plate and spoon the cooked onions and garlic bulbs onto the plate.  Cut the ties from the legs and garnish with more rosemary.

To Make Gravy:

To make the gravy, pour pan juices into a measuring jug or gravy boat.  Skim off any fat that rises to the top with a slotted spoon or small sieve.  This gravy will taste great by itself.  

If you want to thicken it, whisk together a tablespoon of flour in 1 cup of cold water.  (NOTE: Don’t just dump flour into the pan juices without mixing it with water first, as it won’t dissolve and you’ll end up with a mass of sticky clumps that will ruin the gravy.)  Pour the water-flour mix into a pan along with the pan juices and whisk to mix.  Simmer both together for 2-3 minutes, then serve along with the roast chicken.