richard Our Abel & Cole large organic chicken arrived well protected and coddled with ice to keep it fresh, which was a fairly good plan since it was one of the hottest days of the year. It was a good-sized beast, weighing in at 1.8 kg. In the interests of getting a fair evaluation of said beast it was decided that a traditional roasting was in order. And so it was that butter and lemon and garlic and thyme were gathered. Read on…
Preheat the oven to 230 C. Smother the chicken in butter. Squeeze the lemon over the chicken and place the juiced shells in the cavity of the chicken along with a couple of finely chopped cloves of garlic and a handful of thyme.
Season with salt and pepper and place in the hot oven for 15 minutes.
After the 15 minutes, remove and baste thoroughly then lower the heat to 190 C and return to the oven for another 35-45 minutes.
Remove when crisp and golden and leave to rest for 15 minutes before carving. Resist the temptation to immediately strip it bare of its salty crackly skin.
Verdict: Oh my gosh Roberta, very tasty indeed. Definitely one of the most delicious chickens I’ve ever had, honestly, the herbs and lemon and garlic came through perfectly and the flesh was superbly moist. And as for that skin, well I found it necessary to eat all of that while the chicken was warm. YUM.
Drink: Water.
Entertainment: Some Superman remake with a few good bits but which went on too long. The baddies in Kevin Spacey and Parker Posey were eminently more interesting than the uber-bland Lois Lane.
Details: 1 organic chicken, whole, with giblets (2.1kg avg) – £12.41.
