Roast Chicken

Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.

Preheat oven to 220C/450F (standard) or 200C/430F (fan/convection). Put shelf in the middle.

Mix together Butter ingredients. Add juice from 2 wedges of lemon.

Place chicken in a roasting pan. Use a dessert spoon to loosen skin from chicken (see video). Do the top (the breast) and the drumsticks – not the underside.

Prop chicken upright, drizzle butter under skin, using most of the garlic/herb sludge, but saving a bit of butter for the skin (Note 3).

Drizzle / smear remaining butter all over surface of the chicken. Squeeze over juice of 2 lemon wedges.

Stuff used lemon wedges and rosemary inside chicken.

Tie drumstick ends with string and tuck wing tips under the chicken.

Sprinkle all over with salt and pepper.

Place onion and garlic in the pan, place chicken on top. Pour wine around, drizzle chicken with oil.

Transfer to oven. Roast for 10 minutes, then turn oven down to 180C/350F (all oven types). Roast for a further 1 hr 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 75C/165F or until juices run clear when pierced at the join between the drumstick and the body. Baste twice (30 min then at 1 hr), spooning pan juices over skin.

Rest for 15 minutes – don’t cover, skin becomes wet.

Serve with pan juices (see video for how to carve). I discard onion but use the garlic in the pan. See notes for side suggestions & how to use carcass for incredible homemade broth!