The Best Sunday Roast Chicken

By
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm is a renowned British food writer, classically trained chef, teacher, and author with over 25 years of experience writing about British food and cooking.
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Updated on 06/12/21
Best Sunday Roast Chicken

Christina Schmidhofer / Getty Images
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 90 mins
Total: 105 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Yield: 1 roast chicken
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
1133 Calories
76g Fat
6g Carbs
97g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 1133
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 76g 97%
Saturated Fat 29g 146%
Cholesterol 436mg 145%
Sodium 7626mg 332%
Total Carbohydrate 6g 2%
Dietary Fiber 0g 1%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 97g
Vitamin C 5mg 23%
Calcium 83mg 6%
Iron 7mg 38%
Potassium 935mg 20%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

If you are cooking a whole chicken, especially for Sunday lunch, one favorite way is a simple Roast Chicken recipe. A great roast chicken does not need to be saved just for the Sunday dinner; it is delicious any day of the week. 

In this traditional recipe, the chicken is cooked in lots of butter so the chicken remains moist and succulent and the skin crispy and golden.

When choosing a chicken to cook, a higher welfare bird is always preferable. It is always comforting to know the bird had led a happier life plus the meat is, by far, tastier. 

A classic roast chicken is simple to make and aside as a roast on a Sunday and served with Yorkshire Puddings, the chicken is super served cold for lunch, in sandwiches or for a picnic.

Ingredients

  • 3 1/2 pounds (1 1/2 kilograms) high welfare chicken

  • 4 ounces (110 grams) butter, softened

  • Sea salt

  • 1 bulb garlic, skin on and halved across the bulb

  • 3 1/2 ounces (100 milliliters) dry white wine

  • 1 cup (200 milliliters) chicken or vegetable stock

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

  3. Place the chicken, breast up, in a deep roasting tin. Massage the softened butter all over the chicken breasts, legs and sides. 

  4. Tuck the half of the garlic into the chicken cavity and sprinkle all over with sea salt

  5. Toss the remaining garlic into the roasting tin and place into the preheated oven and cook for 1 hr 30 minutes.

  6. Remove the chicken from the tin and wrap tightly in aluminum foil and leave the bird to rest for 15 minutes.

  7. Put the roasting tin over medium heat on the stovetop and bring the chicken juices up to a gentle simmer. Slowly raise the heat to high and add the white wine.

  8. Stir the wine and juices thoroughly with a wooden spoon and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the chicken or vegetable stock, stir again, lower the heat and simmer until reduced by one-third.

  9. Unwrap the chicken and add any juices released by the chicken into the sauce and bring back to the boil. Remove the sauce from the heat and strain through a fine sieve into a warmed gravy boat or jug.

  10. Put the chicken onto a carving platter, surround with roasted vegetables. Serve the chicken immediately with the sauce on the side.

  11. Enjoy!

Tips

To ring the changes on this simple (and delicious) roast chicken, try an alternative a lemon roast chicken and don't forget to save the chicken carcass to make chicken stock, or a soup.