by Ben Lippett

Roasted Chicken With Schmaltzy Shallots & Mash 

As the temperatures get colder and the evenings draw in, here's a cosy dish by Ben Lippett, cooked using AEG appliances.

Ingredients

Serves: 4
Prep time: 15 Mins + Resting Time
Cook time: 65 Mins
Total time: 80 Mins + Resting Time

For the Chicken & Shallots

1.8-2kg Good Quality Chicken
12 Round Shallots
1 Garlic Bulb 
2 Red Chillies
15g Thyme 
25g Rosemary
250ml White Wine
750ml Good Quality Chicken Stock 
2 Tsp Cornflour
2 Tbsp Sherry Vinegar 
10g Chives
Olive Oil, Flaky Salt, Black Pepper

For the Mash

1.5kg Potatoes, Maris Piper, King Edward or Similar 
150g Unsalted Butter 
200ml Whole Milk 

Method

OPTIONAL: Starting at least 3 hours but up to two days before you want to eat, season the chicken with roughly 10g of fine sea salt inside and out. Sit the chicken onto a rack set over a tray and slide into the fridge to air dry. The salt will draw moisture out of the skin, season the meat and improve the texture of your chicken. Pull the chicken back out of the fridge at least an hour before you want to roast it to temper. If you do this, skip the seasoning in the recipe!

  1. Preheat your oven to 240°C. 
  2. To prepare the chicken for roasting, first remove the wishbone. Pull any skin away from the front of the cavity where the neck meets the breasts and use a small, sharp knife to expose either side of the wishbone. Trace up the bone with the tip of your knife to the breast bone to expose both sides. Cut down and through the bottom of each side and then pull the wishbone out. Cut the skin where the legs meet the back of the breast, cut close to leg, leaving as much skin on the crown as possible. Pop the legs out of the sockets and then cut them away from the spine, being careful to keep your knife snug to the bone and to remove the oyster with the leg. Now, cut just below the ribcage towards the front of the breast down into the spine on either side of the crown. Can now push the crown forward and remove from the spine. 
  3. For the mash, prick the potatoes with a fork and tip onto a tray. Slide into the oven with the chicken for 60-70 minutes until they’re completely tender. While still hot, cut in half and use a tea towel to hold the potatoes as you push them, cut side down, through a sieve into a large saucepan. The flesh will pass through the sieve and you’ll be left with just the skin. Use a spatula or the back of a spoon to push any remaining potato through the sieve and into the pan. You can eat the skins, if you like, but we don’t need them here! Set the pan over a medium heat and add the milk and butter, a little at a time, until fully incorporated. Beat together until you have a rich, silky mash. Season with salt and keep warm. 
  4. Preheat a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add a shot of olive oil, pat the chicken legs dry with kitchen paper inside and out and rub all over with olive oil. Season generously with flaky salt and then lay into the pan, skin side down. Sear and crisp the skin for 5-6 minutes before removing and repeating with the crown. Try and get an even colour across the skin, but don’t sweat too much if there are few lighter patches. 

Method Continued

5. Grab a large roasting tin or cast iron pan and slide into the oven to preheat. Top, tail and peel the shallots, leaving them whole. Cut the top off of the garlic bulb, just enough to expose the top of the cloves, sit on a small sheet of tin foil, drizzle with oil, season with salt and wrap up tightly. Stuff the thyme and half of the rosemary inside the cavity of the crown. Remove the preheated pan from the oven, add the shallots, the whole chillies, a good pinch of salt and a glug of olive oil. Toss to coat, drop in the parcel of garlic and sit the chicken on top. 

6. Slide the pan back into the oven and lower the heat to 220°C. Roast the chicken for 20-25 mins at this temperature until nice and brown before turning down to 200°C until the thickest part of the breast has hit 68-69°C, it should take around 20-25 more minutes. At this point, whip the pan out of the oven, lift your crown out of the pan to rest on a tray, and then slide the legs back in for another 25-30 minutes. 

7. To make the gravy, lift the garlic, chillies and herbs out of the tray and set over a high heat on the stove. Tip in the white wine to deglaze and scrape up and flavour stuck to the base. Bring the wine to a boil and reduce until it’s almost all gone, and the shallots are nice and shiny. Whip the shallots out of the pan and add the chicken stock. Reduce by 2/3rds until rich and delicious. Try not to over reduce or it’ll be too salty, as soon as it’s tasting perfect, lower the heat. At this point, if you want to thicken it, add the cornflour to a small bowl along with 3-4 tsp of the gravy. Stir into the cornflour to form a paste and then whisk the paste through the rest of the gravy. Bring back to a boil and the sauce will thicken a little. 

8. Squeeze the garlic out onto your chopping board and chop the remaining rosemary and roasted chillies into it. Add the mixture into the sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper. Put the shallots in a separate bowl, dress them with chives and sherry vinegar and keep warm. Take your rested chicken crown and use a small, sharp knife to remove the breasts. Serve the roasted chicken with spoonfuls of buttery mash, the vinegary shallots and plenty of the rosemary and chilli gravy.