Mary Berry’s roast chicken recipe
Words: Gentleman's Journal
A true gentleman always knows how to cook a few meals (and cook them well). It’s a great opportunity to hone and showcase a skill and, to many, even a kind of therapy and a confidence-booster.
And if you teach yourself how to cook roast chicken like the one you see in the photo above, well, you’ll be a cut above the rest. A super-quick and easy way to impress your friends, needing minimum preparation, Mary Berry’s orange and honey roast chicken recipe is just the thing every gentleman needs in his culinary arsenal.
Here’s how you make it:
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg fresh whole chicken
- 25g butter
- 25g plain flour
For the marinade
- 600ml orange juice from a carton
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 4 tbsp runny honey
- 1 large tbsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
Method
1. Measure the marinade ingredients into a jug and stir until combined.
2. Take two large poly bags and put one inside the other. Put the chicken inside the bags and pour over the marinade. Securely tightly and leave to marinate in the fridge overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6.
4. Remove the chicken from the marinade and put it in a roasting tin. Roast in the preheated oven for about 1 hour 30 minutes (20 minutes per 450g/1lb and 20 minutes over).
5. During the final 15 minutes of cooking, remove any fat from the bottom of the tin and pour the marinade over the chicken.
6. Return to the oven and continue to roast until the chicken is tender. If it starts getting too brown, cover with a piece of foil.
7. Mix the butter and flour together in a small bowl to make a paste (this is called beurre manié).
8. Remove the chicken from the roasting tin and set aside to rest. Slide the tin over a high heat on the hob and, using a small hand whisk, add small amounts of the beurre manié and whisk to thicken the sauce (this will act as your roast chicken gravy).
9. Strain the sauce and serve with the carved chicken.
10. Enjoy your delicious meal (and lap up the brownie points).
For more Mary Berry chicken recipes, check out her book ‘Family Sunday Lunches’, available on Amazon.
Love your meat-based dishes? Learn five meat recipes that every gentleman should know.
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