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Incredible Roast Chicken & Flavour Bomb Gravy

Serves 5| Ready in 1 hrs 45 mins
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Crispy, golden roast chicken with succulent fall of the bone tender meat, and a chicken gravy so full of flavour that you’ll want to drink it right from the jug.

Incredible Roast Chicken & Flavour Bomb Gravy

Who doesn’t love a Sunday roast? I make this roast chicken recipe on the reg, it’s so easy, just put the whole chicken in the oven with your gravy ingredients and let it do the work. Perfect for effortless entertaining or a weekly family staple.

Of all the roast chicken dishes I’ve tried, this has to be (in my opinion) the best roast chicken recipe. Maybe I’m biased, maybe I’m right, you be the judge.

The cooking time will depend on the size of your chicken. If you’re looking for a rule of thumb on how long to cook a roast chicken, you’ll want to cook it for 30 mins, plus 20 minutes for every 500g of chicken. If you’re worried about undercooking your chicken, the best thing to do is get yourself a food thermometer and test the thickest part of the chicken, ensuring it’s 75 c /165 f.

Looking for the perfect accompaniment to roast chicken? Serve with roast potatoes and Petits Pois à la Française in the cooler months, or a simple rocket/arugula salad in the warmer months.

Frequently asked questions
Does roast chicken need to be covered with foil when cooking?

You don’t need to cover roast chicken when cooking. As long as you follow the cooking instructions it won’t burn or dry out.

What temperature do you cook roast chicken at?

220 C / 450 F for 30 minutes, then 200 C / 390 F for the remaining cook time - 20 minutes per 500g.

Ingredients and substitutions

A whole uncooked chicken, streaky bacon, leek, garlic, dried mushrooms, butter, sage, lemon salt, pepper, chicken stock
Whole chicken
Organic free range if possible
Garlic
To flavour the gravy
Dried mushrooms
Shiitake, porcini or chanterelle are good options
Sage leaves
For a herbaceous note to the grave
Leek
To bring in an allium flavour
Streaky bacon
To add meatyness and a rounded flavour to the gravy
Chicken stock
You could also use bone broth
Butter and olive oil
Fats of choice
Lemon
To flavour the roast chicken
Salt and pepper
To season

How to make it - step by step!

Bacon, garlic, leek and mushrooms in a tray
1. Pre heat and prep

Preheat oven to 220 C / 450 F. Place your sliced leek, bacon, sage leaves, garlic and mushrooms in a lined roasting tray, drizzle over olive oil.

Seasoning whole uncooked chicken
2. Season chicken

Place chicken on top of the vegetables then drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. rub into the chicken, including the cavity. Place ½ lemon into the cavity.

Chicken in tray ready to roast
3. Roast chicken

Tie the chicken legs together with roasting twine then place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes.

Brown butter and add flour
4. Brown butter then add flour

After about 30 minutes of roasting, turn the oven temperature to 200 C / 390 F. Add butter to a saucepan on medium heat, allow to brown slightly then add 1.5 tbsp of plain flour, stir to combine, cook for a couple of seconds.

Roast vegetables being added to browned butter
5. Add roasted vegetables and bacon to sauce

Remove the chicken from the oven, transfer to a plate, (the chicken will not be cooked at this point) remove leek, garlic, mushrooms, bacon and sage, add to the saucepan with butter and flour and return the chicken to the roasting tray to continue cooking for the remaining 1 hr and 20 minutes (or 20 minutes per 500g), or until chicken is cooked through internal temperature should read 75 C / 165 F) at the thickest part of the chicken and skin is golden and crispy and juices run clear.

Simmering stock
6. Add stock and simmer

Add 500ml of chicken stock to the saucepan and bring to a very low simmer, cook gently while the chicken finishes roasting.

Straining vegetables over a bowl
7. Strain and simmer

Once the chicken is cooked, drain the juices from the roasting tray into the gravy, simmer for another couple of minutes, then strain the gravy through a sieve. Taste and season. Then add to a jug.

Roast chicken on a table with gravy, lemon, herbs and peas to the side
8. Serve

Serve chicken on a platter with herbs and flavour bomb gravy.

Watch the how to video

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Incredible Roast Chicken & Flavour Bomb Gravy

Cook Time
1 hrs 40 mins
Prep Time
5 mins
Serves
5
Crispy, golden roast chicken with succulent fall of the bone tender meat, and a chicken gravy so full of flavour that you’ll want to drink it right from the jug.
  • 2kg organic free range whole chicken
  • 1 bulb of garlic, sliced in half
  • ½ cup of dried mushrooms - shiitake, porcini or chanterelle are good options
  • 6-8 sage leaves (plus extra for decoration - optional)
  • 1 leek, washed, white part cut into rounds
  • 6 slices of streaky bacon, roughly chopped
  • ½ tsp Salt
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • ½ tbsp olive oil
  • 25g butter
  • 1.5 tbsp plain flour
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • 1/2 lemon
Category - Chicken
Cuisine - Australian
Skill Level - Not too tricky
Other categories -
Chicken, Entertaining, Main Dishes, Dinner, Winter
Nutritional information
Calories 647.5 kcal32%
Carbohydrates 13.6 g5%
Sodium 749.4 mg33%
Magnesium 65.4 mg16%
Protein 43.3 g87%
Sugar 5.2 g6%
Calcium 67.7 mg7%
Vitamin A 15%
Fat 46.4 g71%
Fiber 3.0 g12%
Iron 3.0 mg17%
Vitamin C 27%

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