Poulet Rôti

Method

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1. Heat the oven to 200°C / 400°F. Work the softened butter under the breast skin with your fingers, pushing it as far back as it will go.

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2. Salt the bird inside and out and put the lemon, garlic and thyme in the cavity.

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3. Lay the onion slices in a roasting tin and sit the chicken on one side, on top of them. Pour the wine into the tin.

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4. Roast 25 minutes, then turn the bird onto its other side and roast 25 minutes more.

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5. Turn it breast-up and roast a final 25 minutes, until the thigh reads 70°C. It will rise as it rests.

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6. Lift the bird onto a warm plate and rest 20 minutes, breast down for the first 10.

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7. Skim the tin, add the stock, boil hard scraping the base, and whisk in the cold butter. Carve and serve with the juices.

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Chef’s Tips

• Butter under the skin, not on it.
• Turn it twice. The breast should face the heat last.
• Out at 70°C — it carries on cooking while it rests.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the usual stand-in when you are out of fresh garlic — it will not caramelise the same way, but it carries the flavour.
• Vegetable stock in place of the chicken stock makes this meat-free without changing the method, if that is what you need.
• A dry vermouth keeps for longer than an open bottle of white wine and is the closer swap than a random white left in the fridge; for an alcohol-free version, use the same amount of stock with a squeeze of lemon.

Pairing Suggestions

• Roast potatoes
• Green salad
• A glass of Burgundy

Storage & Reheating

Refrigerated for 3 days. The carcass makes stock. Cooked meat freezes for 2 months.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.