Perfect Sunday Roast Chicken With Pan Gravy
Perfect roast chicken with sage and thyme, and a delicious and easy pan gravy, makes for the ideal centrepiece for a classic Sunday lunch.
A medium chicken will roast in around an hour and 10 minutes, and the resting time gives you all the time you need to make the best and easiest gravy!
The Perfect Sunday Roast
You can take the Brit out of Britain, but you can't take the Britain out of the Brit! As much as my food is influenced by global flavours, I still have a huge love for classic, simple British food.
Dishes like cottage pie, beef stew and dumplings and corned beef and potato pies are very close to my foodie heart!
Sunday lunch is, of course, at the heart of that love too! Everything from slow roasted lamb shoulder to roast pork belly is ho so very special!
A simple whole roast chicken is a thing of great beauty and is the star of so many Sunday lunches.
And with roast chicken, you need a good gravy; this simplest of meals has been complicated over time.
But it really needn't be any stress at all!
This dish takes between an hour and a half and an hour and 45 minutes, it uses a medium chicken (1.5-2kg) and includes the resting time.
If you are looking for something a little quicker and smaller, check out my roast chicken breast in peppercorn sauce!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do you remove the wishbone?
The first thing I do is to remove the wishbone, which makes the bird easier to carve. You can see how I do this in the video below; it is in the first few seconds.
Don't worry if you cannot be bothered; it does not have an impact on the cooking!
Do I really need a meat thermometer?
As far as I am concerned, yes. The key to roasting meat is hitting the right internal temperature. A meat thermometer ensures that you get this right every single time.
Why do you put butter between the skin and the breast meat?
It offers a layer of protection for the delicate breast meat, and it bastes the chicken as it bakes. This means that the breast is less prone to drying out, and it's also the perfect way to add flavour!
How do I loosen the skin?
To loosen the skin, simply place your finger under the skin at the cavity end. Then free up the membrane in the centre near the breast bone.
Once that is free, you can gently work it and get your whole hand in there!
Can I stuff the cavity?
I never stuff a bird because it has an impact on cooking time and makes it unpredictable.
Is resting important?
Yes, absolutely, in fact, it is every bit as important as any other part of the recipe; DO NOT skip this step.
Serving Suggestions
Sunday roast chicken must be served with perfect roast potatoes, although if I am feeling indulgent, I go for fondant potatoes.
I'm also fond of adding Yorkshire puddings, they ain't just for roast beef as far as I am concerned.
Rather than stuffing the bird, I also always make some sage and onion stuffing balls. You can roast them in the pan alongside the chicken.
When it comes to veggies, I like green beans with almonds, miso Brussel sprouts or some glazed Chantenay carrots and buttered savoy cabbage or roasted savoy cabbage!
If you want something a little different, how about this delicious vegetable crumble.
Finally, if you have leftovers, then you must give this simple leftover chicken soup a whirl, it is wonderful!
Equipment Used
I only recommend specific brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Oven.
- Hob/stovetop.
- Roasting tin, if you are using an induction hob, make sure that it is ok on an induction hob.
- Fine mesh sieve.
- Paring knife to remove the wishbone (optional).
- Instant-read meat thermometer.
- Small-medium mixing bowl.
- A combination of weighing scales, a measuring jug, measuring cups and spoons.
Perfect Whole Roast Chicken Recipe with a Pan Gravy
Ingredients
- 1 Whole Chicken 1½-2kg
- 1 teaspoon Coarse Sea Salt
- 50 g Softened Butter 3 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon
- 10 Sage Leaves
- 2 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
For the Pan Gravy
- 1½ tablespoon Flour
- 250 ml Chicken Stock 1 Cup
- Salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Remove the wishbone from the chicken (See the video in the Frequently Asked Questions section), then gently tease the skin away from the breast of the bird. It is easier to do that from the cavity end.
- Pick the leaves from the thyme and chop them with the fresh sage, and add them to the softened butter with a quarter of a teaspoon of coarse sea salt.
- Dry the chicken inside and out as far as possible, then place the butter mix under the skin. Massage this butter so that it forms a uniform layer over the breasts.
- Season the cavity of the bird with the remaining salt.
- Place the chicken in a baking tray and then into a hot oven at 220ºC or 450ºF for 20 minutes.
- Then reduce the temperature to 180ºC or 350ºF and cook for a further 30 minutes per kilogram.
- Use a meat thermometer to test the internal temperature of the bird before moving. You want a temperature of 68ºC or 155ºF.
- Tilt the bird when removing from the pan to allow any internal juices to run into the pan. Then allow the chicken to rest for 20-30 minutes.
- The internal temperature of the bird will rise into the safe zone of 74ºC or 165ºF during this time.
For the Pan Gravy.
- Pour out the contents of the roasting tin into a bowl.
- Tilt the bowl and skim the fat off the top.
- Return 2 tablespoons of this fat to the roasting tin and place it over a medium heat.
- Add the flour for the gravy and whisk for 2-3 minutes.
- Pour in the juices from the chicken and whisk for another minute or two.
- Add in the chicken stock and test for seasoning.
- Add any further resting juices from the chicken when it is carved.
- Finally, pass through a fine-mesh sieve before pouring into a jug.
This chicken really does look perfect! What a great skill to have - your pictures look downright delish.
This looks like pure perfection Brian and adding peanuts to the stuffing is an insanely genius idea. Absolutely love the idea. Had roast chicken last night but this is definitely a recipe to make super soon.
I love the flavours you have used for the under skin stuffing and the combination will make it deliciously spicy. We eat roast chicken most weeks so it's great to find a new way to roast it.
Thanks Ramona 🙂
This chicken really does look perfect! What a great skill to have - your pictures look downright delish.
You are far too kind thanks Julie 🙂
I love the flavours you have used for the under skin stuffing and the combination will make it deliciously. We eat roast chicken most weeks so it's great to find a new way to roast it.
Thanks Amanda, you can stuff all sorts under the skin this way too 🙂
Thanks Anne, really glad you like the recipe... I have been playing around with different stuffings under the skin recently and this works wonderfully well, I still like traditional though too, parsley and thyme is a really classic combination that tastes wonderful 🙂 Thanks for the shout out on the link up, I'm sure I will be back!
Thanks Sai, It certainly was tasty
It is a wonderful thing but really versatile, you can do any sort of flavour combination that floats your boat... Cashew and five spice works wonderfully!
Thanks Elizabeth 🙂
Thank you... Maybe I should have called it a trip to the pub roast chicken 😀
Agree that very little can beat a great roast and this combination looks spot on!
Thanks Kavey 🙂
Agree with you about a) roasting potatoes with the bird b) needing to roast things because you are British and c) getting three meals out of a bird (roast, risotto and a soup usually). Love, mouth-watering post.
Ha ha, thank you Sally... Anything less than 3 meals is just plain not right 😉
Thanks Claire, I hope you enjoy as much as we did, the nuts worked wonderfully well 🙂
Growing up we always had some type of roast on a Sunday, unfortunately my mother usually overcooked it,haha! I've never tried seasoning under the skin, will definitely have to try this out.
Thanks Jane... I think many of us will have memories of horribly over cooked joints of meat from our childhood, I certainly do 😉 Seasoning under the skin is a great way of boosting flavour in the often flavourless breast meat, you could enfuse the butter with anything, lemon zest and thyme is one of my favourites and the butter bastes the breast at the start too keeping it lovely and moist.