Grandma's Roast Chicken
Grandma's Roast Chicken is an aromatic dish baked in a butter-and-spice mixture. The meat stays juicy and the skin turns delicately crisp. Serve it with rice, sweetcorn and chopped spring onions. This recipe works well for a festive lunch or a relaxed family dinner.
Prep: 2 h
Cook: 1 h 30 min
Servings: 6
Energy: 560 kcal per serving
Method
01.
Rinse the chicken thoroughly and remove any leftover feathers or quills. Cut it in half and divide each half into 3 pieces. Melt the butter in the microwave at a maximum of 350 W (no higher, or it may spit) until liquid.
02.
Grind all the spices – paprika, rosemary, white pepper, cumin and salt – in a stone mortar to a fine, even mixture. Mix with the still warm melted butter. Rub the butter-spice mixture thoroughly into the chicken pieces; keep a little mixture back for the final basting. Place the pieces in a roasting tin, pour in a little water and roast covered in the oven.
03.
Roast until the chicken is beautifully tender (about 60–80 minutes). Towards the end, uncover it, brush the surface with the remaining butter-spice mixture and roast uncovered for about 10–15 minutes more, which gives a delicately crisp, flavourful skin.
04.
Dilute the pan juices with a little water so that the lightly browned residue dissolves well and enriches the gravy with its flavour. Stir the gravy well and thicken it with a tablespoon of plain flour, whisked into the gravy together with a knob of butter. Simmer, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes. Serve with rice mixed with sweetcorn kernels sautéed in a little butter and chopped spring onion greens.
