Crisp-skinned, juicy whole roast chicken with a deeply flavored pan gravy made from the drippings.
Ingredients
1600 g whole chicken
18 g fine sea salt (for chicken)
4 g freshly ground black pepper (for chicken)
30 g unsalted butter, softened (for chicken)
120 g lemon, halved
5 g fresh thyme sprigs
20 g garlic, lightly crushed
200 g yellow onion, cut into 3 cm chunks
150 g carrot, cut into 3 cm chunks
150 g celery, cut into 3 cm chunks
1 g bay leaf
15 ml olive oil
60 ml dry white wine (optional)
500 ml low-sodium chicken stock
25 g all-purpose flour
25 g unsalted butter (for gravy, as needed)
2–4 g fine sea salt (for gravy)
1 g freshly ground black pepper (for gravy)
Steps
Remove the giblets from the chicken.
Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
Sprinkle 18 g salt evenly over the chicken skin and cavity.
Set the chicken on a rack over a tray.
Refrigerate the chicken uncovered for 12–48 hours.
Remove the chicken from the refrigerator 30 minutes before roasting.
Preheat the oven to 230°C.
Position an oven rack in the center of the oven.
Halve the lemon.
Tuck the wing tips under the chicken.
Tie the legs together with kitchen twine.
Rub 30 g softened butter over the chicken skin.
Grind 4 g pepper evenly over the chicken skin.
Place the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and bay leaf in a roasting pan.
Drizzle 15 ml olive oil over the vegetables.
Toss the vegetables to coat.
Place the chicken breast-side up on top of the vegetables.
Place the lemon halves inside the chicken cavity.
Place the thyme sprigs inside the chicken cavity.
Insert an oven-safe thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh.
Roast the chicken at 230°C for 20 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 190°C.
Continue roasting until the thigh reaches 74°C, about 35–45 minutes.
Tilt the chicken over the pan to drain the cavity juices into the pan.
Transfer the chicken to a cutting board.
Rest the chicken uncovered for 15 minutes.
Pour the pan contents through a strainer into a fat separator or bowl.
Skim 25 g of fat from the drippings and reserve it.
Place the roasting pan on the stovetop over medium heat.
Add the reserved 25 g chicken fat to the pan.
Add 25 g flour to the fat.
Whisk the mixture until pale brown, about 2 minutes.
Pour in 60 ml white wine (optional).
Simmer the wine until reduced by half, about 1–2 minutes.
Pour in 500 ml chicken stock while whisking.
Simmer the gravy until thick enough to coat a spoon, about 5–8 minutes.
Stir in 2 g salt.
Taste the gravy and add up to 2 g more salt if needed.
Stir in 1 g pepper.
Strain the gravy through a fine strainer into a warmed jug.
Carve the chicken.
Serve the chicken with the pan gravy.
Notes
Dry-brining improves seasoning and skin crispness; for same-day roasting, step 5 can be reduced to 30 minutes at room temperature, though results are less pronounced.
Target doneness is 74°C in the thigh; carryover cooking during the rest will finish the bird without drying it.
If the pan yields less than 25 g fat, supplement with unsalted butter to reach 25 g in step 30.
If the gravy is too thin, simmer longer; if too thick, whisk in 20–40 ml hot stock or water to adjust.
For variation, replace thyme with 5 g rosemary or add 5 ml Dijon mustard to the finished gravy for brightness.
Cooksmith