Super Chicken

Sussex chickens I'd love for our yard,
one day soon

How amazing are chickens? I've got a dream to have some free ranging in our yard in the next year or so. We are in the middle of finishing off a backyard reno so not really the right time but it will happen.  I was lucky enough to see a baby chicken hatch at fun4kids childrens festival in the school holidays and it almost brought a tear to my eye, amazing.

Here he his working his way
 into the world

It could seem in bad taste that I talk and show pictures of chickens in a blog that is to be about roast chicken, but we can't live in denial. Its the way things are. I'm not that keen on thinking too much about it but if I am going to eat chicken I want it to have had the best life possible, so I'm free range all the way.  If you are someone who likes the pre-cooked chickens from the supermarket, or buys 2 for 1 for $5.99,  my one wish would be you compare the taste to a free range chicken. Too expensive I hear some of you say, well yes they are but they need space to roam, good quality feed to eat, care is what you are paying for and in turn that creates better flavour.  Those cheap chickens are squashed into cages on top of each other, nothing to scratch up like grass or worms, no fresh air and are pumped full of hormones and water and is that really what you want to be eating? Just some food for thought.....

So, unless you are vegetarian, many of us eat chicken a few times a week.  The thing I love most about a free range roast chicken is you not only get the juiciest and tastiest chicken as it’s cooked on the bone, it lasts our family for 2 dinners making an $11 bird a bargain.  

The beauty about a roast chicken is you can use it for so many different dishes and put an assortment of different flavours on it. But for this beauty, its a traditional roast dinner with gravy and roasted vegies I'm chasing.

I roast all my meat over a wire rack with water in the bottom. This is so the fat and any juices collect in the water as it reduces,  steams and creates its own lovely gravy to be thickened once the fat has been skimmed off. I use a jug to collect the juices and put in the freezer for 30 mins. The fat rises to the top and solidifies so is easy to take off.

Take your bird and pat it dry with some paper towel. Remove any excess fat around the opening of the carcass.  I use herbs and garlic and/or an onion to stuff the chicken with to add flavour not to eat.  For this one I used rosemary, sage, mint, parsley stalks and 4 cloves of garlic. Dose with a good amount of sea salt, pepper and a light dusting of sweet smoked paprika.  A little tip with the paprika is to use a tea strainer to get it really finely sprinkled.  It is more for the added colour it gives than flavour. Drizzle with a little evoo and put into 180c oven for around 2 hours. 

Use a meat thermometer if you are unsure, it should read around 90c. I pull the drumstick away from the carcass slightly to check the meat is cooked closest to the bone, the last thing you want is raw chicken.  The meat near the bone will still be slightly dark red, due more to the colour of the dark meat not from blood when its cooked.

Rest your chicken on a tray for at least 30 mins covering with foil, collect any juices to add to the gravy.  The juices should be clear and not bloody, if it is bloody after the first few minutes of resting, put it back in the oven for another 10 mins or so. And that’s your chook cooked!!

Yes he is missing a leg, I keep forgetting to take
the finish photos,
too eager to get eating!!!

Ciao, Jan