Recipe: Proper Roast Chicken Dinner
Recipe: Chef Ryan Lister’s Proper Roast Chicken Dinner
“The smell of a good roast chicken has to be one of the happiest smells you could have in your home. This recipe is special because it reminds me of midweek roast dinners as a kid with my mum, dad, and siblings. The labour-intensive process of brining and drying the skin isn’t something we would have done at home back then, but I can say those extra steps really take this chicken from ‘tasty’ to ‘wow, that’s proper tasty!’ To me, the cheesy broccoli is the perfect complement to the chicken, and topped with sweet pea purée and rich chicken jus, it really ends up being a stellar eat! This recipe serves four but if there’s just two of you, that’s great because the leftovers are just as delicious.” – Chef Ryan Lister
Ingredients
Roast Chicken
1 whole organic chicken (2-3lbs), wings removed*
3 litres water
2 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tsp black peppercorns
100g salt
150g sugar
4 carrots
4 small onions (skin on)
½ lemon
1 tbsp canola oil
Kosher salt for skin seasoning
*Chef’s note: Finding a good-sized, local, organic chicken is key! If you go to your local butcher they should be able to help you with the first butchery step, as well as supply you with the chicken or beef demi glaze needed for the jus. If you wish to do the butchery yourself, the first thing to do is remove the wings’ tips and flats, as we will use these for the sauce. You can do this by finding the joint between the wing flat and the wing drum and cutting clean between. Set the wings aside.
Jus
2 chicken wings
1 tbsp canola oil
500ml chicken demi glaze
2 small shallots
2 gloves garlic
½ tsp peppercorns
Sprig thyme
Sprig rosemary
500ml white wine
250ml sherry
1 tsp sherry vinegar
Pea Purée
500g frozen peas
100g butter
1 tsp sugar (if needed)
1-2 tbsp salt
Cheesy Broccoli
2 heads broccoli
500ml milk
1 sprig thyme
1 small peeled shallot
1 bay leaf
1 clove
3 black peppercorns
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp hot English mustard
1 tsp grainy Dijon mustard
250g aged white cheddar cheese
1 dash tabasco
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1 egg yolk
Method
- First, we brine! Boil the water, thyme, peppercorns and bay leaf and then add the sugar and salt until fully dissolved. Leave to cool.
- When cool, submerge your whole chicken (minus the wings) into this brine. Leave this overnight for 12 hours. After 12 hours, remove from the brine and place on a tray with a cooling rack. Pat the chicken skin dry and leave uncovered in your fridge for two days until the skin is completely dry. Air circulation is key.
- In the days of waiting, we can make the chicken jus. Take your chicken wings and sear them in a pan with a little canola oil until dark golden. When golden, add shallots, garlic and peppercorns and cook until shallots and garlic are soft or caramelized. Strain off any excess oil. Now add your white wine and sherry to deglaze all the roasted stains on the bottom of your pan. This is flavour. Reduce the wine until it is nearly all evaporated. This will cook the alcohol off and the wine will turn sweet. Add your demi glaze and bring it to a boil. When it comes to a boil, add your sprig of thyme and rosemary and turn the heat off. Leave to infuse for 20 minutes. Strain through a fine strainer and finish with a little sherry vinegar (any vinegar will work but the sweet sherry is best for this sauce). Set aside ready to reheat on roasting day.
- When your chicken is dry we can get ready to roast. Set your oven to 350F with fan (or 375F without fan). Whilst preheating lightly rub your chicken with canola oil then carefully season with salt. Make sure to cover the entire bird top to bottom in an even layer of salt. If you wish to use black pepper, no problem, but to keep the flavour clean and organic, I suggest just salt. Be careful though, because at this point we are only seasoning the skin. The flesh inside has been already seasoned in the brining process! Place the half lemon into the cavity.
- Chop your carrots in half lengthways and your onions into halves for your trivet. Lay them flat on a roasting tray and then place your seasoned chicken on top with the breast and legs facing upwards. (these veggies will roast up and be delicious as sides. My Nan’s roasted onions were the greatest!) Place in the oven for 60 minutes.
- In the meantime, you can prepare your pea purée. Bring a two-litre pot of water to a boil. Add your peas and cook for two minutes until soft. Strain them and retain about 100ml of the water. Add the peas, water, salt and butter to a blender and blend until smooth. If peas need extra sweetness, add a little white sugar or honey.
- For the cheesy broccoli, add your milk, thyme, bay leaf, shallot, clove and peppercorns to a pot. Bring to a boil and turn off. Leave to infuse for 10 minutes and then strain. Steam or boil your broccoli for a minute. It should still be nice and crunchy. Place in an ovenproof tin. In a separate pot, melt butter and add flour to make a white roux. Cook on low for a couple of minutes and then slowly add your infused milk in increments, whisking to ensure there are no lumps. When smooth and back to a boil, add all remaining ingredients except the egg yolk. Mix until smooth. Check the seasoning then add the egg yolk and pour over the broccoli. The egg will help it turn golden brown. Bake at 425F until golden or gratin under the broiler.
- After 60 minutes you can baste your chicken with the rendered oil and chicken fat. Return to the oven for another 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and in the thickest part of the breast. It should hit 165F. Normally I would take it out at 160F so the breast stays moist but as the whole chicken was brined, it can take a little extra cooking to make sure the leg is fully cooked and super juicy.
- When ready remove from the oven and rest for 10-15 minutes. Carve and serve with the sides and chicken jus.
