Roy Creates Traditional Roast Chicken

This week, Roy decided it was time to make something savoury. One of his friends recently asked him how to make a 'proper roast chicken', with stuffing and gravy 'which didn't come out of a box or packet'. He has roasted many chickens in his time, and moreover, his Grandma is a pro! So, with her help, he decided to tackle the perennial favourite. So this week, Roy Creates Traditional Roast Chicken.

You Will Need:

• 1 whole chicken
• Bread. Roy recommends white or wholemeal bread, but avoid seeded breads. This chicken needed 3 slices for breadcrumbs.
• A handful of fresh parsley (about 4 sprigs)
• 1 heaped teaspoon of mixed herbs
• 1 teaspoon of chicken stock powder
• 1 onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 4 rashers of bacon or ham
• Black pepper to taste
• Water (you will not need a huge amount)
• Roasting vegetables (you can use whatever you like best. Roy likes parsnip, sweet potato, potato, pumpkin and a steamed or boiled 'green vegetable'. Today he is having broccoli. You can also use carrots, turnips, beetroot, brussel sprouts, peas and beans etc or in summer serve a roast chicken with salad)
• Plain flour
• Water or stock (or if you are an adult, some white wine is nice). Traditionally the water from the boiled greens would have been used.

Method:

• First, preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Some people will start on a higher temperature and turn the oven down, or start low and turn the oven up, but for beginners, just stick with 180 degrees!

To Make the stuffing

• Chop the bacon into small pieces and put into a large bowl

• Make the slices of bread into breadcrumbs. In the 'old days' you could use a box grater to grate the bread, but today Roy just uses a little food processor. He also likes to throw the parsley in with the bread to chop. Add to the bacon
• Chop the onion and garlic (Roy used the little food processor he was going to use for making breadcrumbs). Add to the bowl
• Add the dried herbs, pepper and chicken stock and mix well.

• Now, add just enough water to make a slightly sticky mix. When you squeeze a handful of the stuffing it should stick together, but not be soggy.
• Clean your chicken. The chicken will (most likely) have had its inner workings removed, but always check! Some butchers put them in a bag inside in case you like to boil and eat them. Wash the chicken in cold water (including inside the cavity), and pull off any flaps of fat or bits of innards you don't want to eat. Pat the chicken dry.
• Push the stuffing inside the chicken. You will need to use your hands and push it into the opening at the back of the chicken. Tuck a bit of stuffing in the opening at the front of the chicken too.
• Use poulty pins to hold the flaps of skin shut over the stuffing and tie the chickens legs together. This stops the stuffing from falling out (but frankly, Roy usually doesn't do this, and the stuffing usually mostly stays put, so if you don't have the pins and don't want to do the tying, don't worry too much)
• Put the chicken into the preheated oven. Cook for approximately 20 minutes per half kilo, plus an extra 20 minutes. This is only a rough guide, different chickens and ovens will effect the cooking times.
• Prepare your vegetables and bake (how long they will take depends on what sort of vegetables and how finely they are cut, though with a 'normal sized' family chicken you can put everything in at the same time. If the vegetables are cooking too quickly you can either cover them with foil or take them out and put them back in later)
• When your chicken is cooked, you will need to transfer it to a carving tray and cover with foil to keep it warm while it rests for a few minutes. This is when you make the gravy. You will know the chicken is cooked if you poke its breast or thigh with a skewer and the juices run clear and if you pull its leg it should be 'wobbly'.

To make the gravy:

• In the pan you roasted the chicken in, you will have all the juices from the chicken. If there is lots of fat, you can skim it off.
• If the pan is ok to use on the stove top, just use the same pan. Otherwise, transfer the juices and scrapings from the pan to a small saucepan.

• Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to get up any yummy bits which have stuck, then, over a low to moderate hear, add about 1 tablespoon of plain flour and cook it off in the juices. Stir all the time. If you don't cook the flour off it will taste like raw flour. You want to cook the flour until it bubbles and thickens to a paste and smells toasted.

• Add bit of water, or stock, and continue stirring over the heat until you have the consistency you want. You want the gravy to boil, and you will need to add more water as it thickens.
• Carve the chicken and serve with roast vegetables and gravy
• Enjoy!