Roast Chicken with Crunchy Roast Potatoes Traybake

Roast Chicken with Crunchy Roast Potatoes Traybake - This is a great dinner for a cosy night in.

In this recipe, Roast Chicken is slathered in a Herby Garlic Lemon Butter. Then it is oven roasted till the skin is golden and crispy and it remains juicy on the inside.

The Chicken is served alongside the most divine crunchy on the outside fluffy on the inside roast potatoes that are cooked alongside the chicken in the tin! Which makes this one of the BEST meals ever.

Roast Chicken with Crunchy Roast Potatoes Traybake

I really wasn't intending to put a post up today but then this happened.

I have countless outstanding posts  (I cook and photograph in bulk so I am several months ahead) that are ready to go up on the blog but I pushed them all aside for this deliciousness.

How are you all? Are you enjoying the holidays?

I am reluctant to post too much about my life on the blog anymore. For more reasons then one.

I am naturally a very private person anyway but more now then ever before. I don't like to pry into other peoples worlds and I don't like to share too much about my life either.

I have often wished to be more open. When  I see how much easier life is that way, I wish that I could just let down my walls..yet they remain fully upright towering over me and cocooning me in from whatever lays beyond them. Good and Bad.

Why is that relevant? I have wanted to share more of myself recently and I can feel the slow crumbling of the wall. I am thinking of doing a monthly newsletter with updates and a summary of posts shared that month. I am in the middle of setting that up at the moment and would love for you to sign up if that sounds like something you would enjoy.

Chicken and Potatoes

Yesterday as I lay in bed, I was reading Nigel Slater - A Cook's Book and came across the idea of making roast potatoes in the same tin as a roast chicken.

I have made Potatoes and Chicken in one tin several times before but this..the suggestion that you could make perfectly crispy roasties with a crispy roast chicken all in one tin - it had never even crossed my mind. Yet it made perfect sense. Hello flavour town.

Imagine all those Chicken juices working their way into the scraggly surface of the potatoes. Yep..it was good. So so good. It was everything I had imagined and more.

This is what he had to say about it (and sometimes only Nigel's explanation will do):

'I have cooked the chicken and potatoes separately, but the latter lacks the sticky sides and toasted edges of those you have had to scrape, reverently from the chicken's roasting tin.

..and yes, they should really be cooked around the bird, so they swell with its juices.'

I mean..of course I was going to try it.

I have several roast chicken recipes on the blog. Suffice to say it really is one of my favourite meals and a topic that I have read about and a meal that I have experimented with endlessly. Here are some of the recipes on the blog so far (there are 2 more ready to go up coming soon):

Buttermilk Roast Chicken

Roast Chicken and Potatoes

Preserved Lemon, Cumin and Thyme Roast Chicken

Greek Roast Chicken

Chicken and Rice One Pot

Chicken in Milk

Lemon and Thyme Roast Chickens with Potatoes

The best Roast Chicken

The best roast chicken has golden crispy buttery skin and is juicy on the inside.

As the chicken cooks, it creates its own tin juices that becomes a kind of gravy for the chicken.

How to make the BEST Roast Chicken and Potatoes

Full instructions and printable recipe card are at the bottom of the page. This is a brief overview.

Either use your fingers or an upside down dessert spoon to loosen the skin on the chicken.

Season the chicken all over. Spread over some olive oil.

Then spoon in the garlic herb butter under the skin.

Then spread it on the outside.

Heat the Oil for the Potatoes in a large thick deep tray.

Meanwhile peel and cut Potatoes, then potatoes for 10 minutes in boiling stock or salted water. (I like to cut the potatoes more triangular on one side). So once the potatoes are cut into large quarters I cut that into 2 but in a zigzag shape.

Drain the Potatoes and let them steam dry before adding some cornflour to them and shaking them with a lid on.

Once the oil is hot, add the Potatoes and cook for 10 minutes. The oil should sizzle.

Carefully add the chicken and garlic to the pan. Add a halved lemon into the cavity of the chicken. This (as with the garlic) just adds a gentle mellow perfume to the chicken.

P.s. If your butter is cold, do melt it a little to make the spreading easier. (I was in a rush waiting for the plumber to arrive and take over my kitchen).

P.p.s. Don't do what I did here and leave the chicken skin up. It tends to gather at the top so after pushing the butter in, gently smooth the skin back down.

Baste a couple of times during cooking.

Cook on high for 20 minutes and then medium for 1 hour - 1 hour 15 by which point the Chicken will be golden brown and the Potatoes will be crunchy and delicious.

 

How long does it take to roast Chicken?

A 2 kg Chicken needs to be cooked for 1 hour 15 mins at 180C/GM4 and 10 minutes at 220C until  the juices run clear.

For any Chicken, it needs to be cooked for 20 minutes for every 500g/1lb at 180C.

Does this Chicken need Gravy?

I don't think it does. The herby Garlic Butter is enough but if you would like to serve it with a gravy then once the chicken has rested, remove it along with the potatoes to a serving platter.

Place the tray with the juices onto the hob squeezing out the garlic from the cloves.

Then as the liquid comes to a simmer, scrape the tin with a wooden spatula to remove all the crusty bits from the bottom of the tin.

Keep stirring.

You can add a little flour to thicken if needed and you can sieve the gravy too. You can also top the juices up with chicken stock.

Tips to make the best Roast Chicken and Potatoes

Potatoes - Parboil the Potatoes for 10 minutes in either salted water or chicken/beef stock. If the edges don't look rough/blurred, boil them a little longer. This is what creates crunch.

Cornflour - Cornflour adds to the crunch but Semolina or Plain Flour also work.

Butter - Use most of the butter under the skin for max flavour.

Chicken Broth - Use the leftover carcass and simmer with stock and veg such as carrots, celery/herbs/garlic to make a broth. Simmer for an hour.

Tarragon - If you can't find Tarragon, use any other Herb that you like.

Storage Instructions

Fridge 

This chicken (with butter)  can be kept in the fridge raw for up to 2 days.

The cooked chicken can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Freezer

This chicken can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. To reheat, let it thaw in the fridge overnight, then roast as per instructions. 

It can be frozen cooked too. Thaw overnight and gently reheat on the stove top or in the oven.

More Roast Dinner Recipes and Sides:

The MOST tender Leg of Lamb

Yorkshire Puddings

Creamed Sweetcorn

Potato Dauphinoise

Creamy Mac and Cheese

Jeera Rice  - Add the Chicken and Juices along with the Potatoes to a bed of cumin rice or serve with Jewelled Rice.

**if you make this recipe, please rate/comment below. we love to hear from you and seeing your creations makes our day – safira