Whole Roast Chicken with Garlic & Thyme

Ingredients

1 (2 kg) Free Range Chicken

4 Bulbs Garlic

1 Bunch Thyme

50gm Butter, cold

Olive Oil

Sea Salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 220℃

To prepare the chicken, remove the chicken from the packaging and pat dry with paper towel.

Gently seperate the skin from the breast taking care not to break the skin. Slice the butter and place beneath the skin along with some of the thyme leaves and sprinkle with sea salt.

Open up the cavity, cut one of the bulbs of garlic in half and place side the cavity along with some more fresh thyme. Hold the legs together and secure with cooking twine.

Place the chicken on a roasting rack inside a deep sided baking tray. Drizzle the outside of the chicken with olive oil and season with sea salt.

Roast the chicken in the oven for 10 minutes at 220℃ then reduce the heat to 180 ℃ and continue to cook for a further one hour & 15 minutes, basting every fifteen minutes. After 45 minutes, cut the tops off the remaining garlic bulbs and place around the chicken. The chicken will be cooked when the internal temperature reaches 75℃ or until the juices run clear.

Allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes before carving, serve with roasted vegetables, roasted garlic bulbs, gravy and garnish with the extra thyme.

Cook’s Tip

Roast Chicken Cooking Time Formula:

10 minutes at 220℃ then 20 minutes for every 500gm at 180℃ until the internal temperature is 75℃ when measured with a meat thermometer or until the juices run clear.

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