Alexina's Excellent Roast Chicken

Alexina Anatole x AEG

This chicken is tender and moist, the skin is properly rendered and golden, and the sauce delivers knockout flavour. Though there are a few steps, the ingredient list is short and you use one pan from start to finish, so the washing up is minimal.

Ingredients

For the Roast Chicken:

1 Chicken - this technique works best with small to medium chickens around 1.5kg/3lb

Diamond Kosher or Maldon salt (1 tbsp per kg) — or if using fine sea salt use only 1/2 tbsp per kg 

For the Sauce:

Pan drippings leftover from roasting the chicken

1 -2 tbsp water

1 large garlic clove, peeled and smashed with the side of a knife

A pat of butter

A squeeze of fresh lemon, or to taste

Equipment:

Large, shallow cast-iron casserole dish

Tongs

AEG oven with food sensor or a temperature probe

Method

  1. Weigh out the right quantity of salt based on the weight of your chicken then sprinkle it all over (get into every nook and cranny!), chucking any excess inside the cavity. Store, uncovered, in the fridge for 24 hours.
  2. Preheat your AEG oven to 230°C/210°C fan/450°F/gas 8.
  3. Preheat the cast-iron pan over a medium heat on your AEG hob for at least 5 minutes, using the Bridge function to accommodate the bigger pan. Meanwhile, remove the chicken from the fridge and dry it off thoroughly with kitchen paper. Add the chicken to the preheated pan — it should sizzle immediately — and leave to cook undisturbed for 10 minutes. 
  4. Insert the AEG oven temperature probe into the thickest part of the breast then transfer the pan with the chicken to the middle shelf of the oven, connect the temperature probe to the oven and roast for 15 to 20 minutes — the skin should already be turning golden/blistering at this point and the temperature should be in the 60s. Use tongs to flip the chicken upside down and return it to the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes until the underside is similarly golden.
  5. Flip the chicken back right side up and return to the oven for a final 5 to 10 minutes to crisp the skin on the breast back up. Keep an eye on the temperature during this time — it’s a balancing act between perfectly cooked meat and golden skin. Ideally you’d remove the chicken when it reaches 72°C but I don’t mind letting it go a bit over that if the skin needs crisping up some more. Insert the food sensor into the thighs to check that they’ve hit 72 to 74°C also. The bird should take between 30 to 40 minutes to cook in total.

Method cont.

6. Transfer the bird to a carving board to rest, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes. The legs are cooked to a safe temperature to eat, bu tif you like them to be more well done (and they do benefit from going to a higher temperature!), cut through the skin between the breast and thigh, carefully pull the legs off the carcass (it’ll be hot!) and pop them back into the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes.

7. To make the sauce, pop the pan on the hob over a medium-low heat and add the water, being sure to scrape up all the golden bits off the base of the pan. Add the garlic and allow it to infuse the fat for a minute or so before adding the butter. Let the sauce bubble away for a minute, then add lemon juice to taste, allowing it to bubble away another minute longer. This sauce does not need any salt. Keep warm on the lowest heat until ready to serve.

8. To serve, carve the bird, arrange on a platter, dress with the sauce and scatter with herbs, if liked.