Traditional Roast Chicken

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking: 1 hour 40 mins
Serves: 4 - 6

For a tasty, authentic roast dinner, this traditional dish is unbeatable. Simple and yet mouth-wateringly delicious, this truly is a meal the whole family can enjoy.

Choose British chicken with the Red Tractor and Union Jack on pack and you’ll know that you’re getting fresh, local birds that are fully traceable back to independently-inspected British farms. Or ask your butcher if it’s British.

Ingredients

1 medium whole British chicken
6 rashers of streaky bacon
salt and pepper
40g butter

For the stuffing
4 large onions, finely chopped
10 sage leaves, chopped
125g breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
50g butter, softened
salt and pepper
bunch of sage, for garnish

Top tip: To reduce the fat content (especially saturated fat) of this traditional dish, omit the butter under the skin of the chicken and drizzle the chicken with a little olive oil before cooking. Also soften the onions for the stuffing in a tsp of olive oil.

Method

1 Preheat oven to 190°C / 375°F / gas mark 5.

2 Melt the butter and add the onions. Gently cook for about 10 minutes until the onions are soft. Allow to cool and add the sage, breadcrumbs and season. Add just enough egg to moisten the mixture and leave until ready to use. Tip: Use a pack of stuffing if time is short.

3 Stuff the chicken from the neck end, and pack about two-thirds of the stuffing inside. Close the skin over the stuffing and secure it with a cocktail stick or small skewer.

4 Shape the remaining stuffing into balls and place on a baking sheet. Cook in the oven with the chicken for the final 25 minutes.

5 Place the chicken in a roasting tin and spread with butter. Season the chicken with the salt and pepper to taste. Arrange the bacon in a criss-cross pattern across the breast. Cover loosely with foil.

6 Roast in the centre of oven for 20 minutes per 500g plus 10-20 minutes extra, basting twice during cooking.

7 15 minutes before end of cooking time, remove the foil, remove the bacon, baste and increase the heat to 220ºC / 425°F / gas mark 7, to give the skin that final golden crispiness. When it is cooked, remove it from the oven and cover it with foil. Leave to rest for at least 10 minutes before serving. The juices should run clear when the thigh is pierced. If not, cook further.

8 Garnish with a bunch of sage and serve with a selection of roasted vegetables.

Nutritional Information   Per Serving Per 100g Calories 397kcal 111kcals Protein 19.5g 5.5g Carbohydrates 20.2g 5.7g Fat 23.5g 6.6g Saturated Fat 7.4g 2.1g