by Gordon Hamilton

Created on: February 03, 2009   Last Updated: February 06, 2009

Roasting chicken is one of the most delicious of all the ways in which we can prepare it. Crisp, golden skin, protecting the juiciest and most tender flesh of almost any meat. Drumsticks which fall off at the merest touch and are sensational to bite in to and chew upon. How do we make sure that this is precisely how our roast chicken comes out of the oven? How do we avoid the pitfalls that deliver us an undercooked bird or one where the flesh has become dry and unpalatable and all but inedible?

The first step is in ensuring we buy the right type of chicken. Of course we can go for the supermarket's cheapest offering if we so desire, provided of course that in so doing, we know that we are significantly compromising the quality of our future eating experience.

It is always worthwhile spending whatever extra it may be to purchase a free range and organic chicken. This means that the birds were allowed to wander around outdoors in life, building up their muscle tissue, and were fed only on natural products and not on any artificial growth enhancers or the likes. This established, we can now get on with the cooking.

This is a recipe which I have made several times and believe I have down to perfection. It is not difficult nor time consuming in preparation. I very much hope that you like it and will try it out for yourself.

Ingredients

1 organic, free range chicken

1 large orange

The juice of a second orange

1 tbsp of honey

Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)

1oz of unsalted butter

Method

The first thing to do is remember to put your oven on to pre-heat to 375 degrees Fahrenheit or 190 Celsius.

Put the honey, the orange juice, the garlic and the nutmeg in to a bowl or basin and stir well. Chop the orange in to about eight equally sized pieces and add them to the bowl as well, stirring them around to get them well coated in the mixture. This mix should then be poured in to the cavity of the raw chicken.

Sit the chicken in the roasting tin and with your hand, rub it all over with the butter. Take a minute or two to do this properly and ensure that you cover all the exposed surface area. Put it in the oven thereafter for twenty minutes per pound plus an additional twenty minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare whatever you are going to serve with it. You may wish to add such as potatoes to the roasting tin for the last forty-five minutes of the cooking time to roast in the chicken juices, you may wish simply to boil them before adding some butter and fresh herbs. Steamed or boiled carrots always go well with chicken, as does broccoli. Whatever your choice, make sure that you select accompaniments that will properly compliment your roast chicken and enjoy this culinary delight to the full.

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