The Best Roast Chicken

My sons are in the “get as tall as I can phase” please, and I’ve watched them shoot up faster than a beanstalk this year. An easy protein to have on hand for rapidly growing, hungry youngsters (and their perimenopausal mum!) is a full roast chicken.

This recipe is really simple and the chicken comes out juicy every time. The secret is in the brining - which takes a couple of minutes to set up 24 hours ahead, but is sooo worth it.

Once you've roasted the chicken, it's super easy to turn into wraps, fried rice, pasta dishes, soups, salads, rice paper rolls or tasting plates. And don’t waste the bones! Save them and turn them into chicken stock or bone broth.

Ingredients
1 whole chicken
60 grams salt
1 litre water
Olive Oil

Method
24 hours before you want to roast the chicken, make a brine out of the water and salt. The brine solution is 6% salt to water ratio (60 grams salt for every litre of water).

Rinse your chicken (including the inside) under running water. Pop it in a container so it fits snugly (you’ll need less brine if it’s snug).

Leave the chicken to brine overnight in the fridge.

The next day:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry with a paper towel. Place it in a baking dish, drizzle olive oil over the chicken. Rub the olive oil all over the chook for even coverage.

(If you have other things you like to add to your roast chicken - butter, thyme, lemon, spices - pop them in here!)

Add water to the bottom of the pan - enough to cover the base.

Place chicken in the oven for 70-80 minutes. (The general rule for chicken is 20 min per 500g, plus 500g).

Check that the chicken is cooked by inserting a skewer into the thickest part of the breast - the juices should run clear when it’s cooked. If you have a thermometer, the internal temperature of the chicken breast should be 75 degrees celsius.