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Roast Chicken with Pan Gravy

Classic butter, garlic and herb roast chicken on a mirepoix base, with pan gravy made from the drippings.

Prep: 20 minCook: 75 minTotal: 115 minServings: 3-4

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 1 whole chicken (~1.5–1.8kg)
  • 50g butter (softened)
  • 4 garlic cloves (minced)
  • 1tbsp fresh thyme (finely chopped)
  • 1tbsp fresh rosemary (finely chopped)
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 lemon (halved)
  • 1 onion (roughly chopped)
  • 2 carrots (roughly chopped)
  • 2 celery stalks (roughly chopped)

Gravy

  • 2tbsp flour
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • white wine (a splash, optional)
  • butter (a knob, optional, to finish)
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Instructions

Chicken

  1. 1

    Preheat oven to 200°C (fan).

  2. 2

    Mix the softened butter with the garlic, herbs, and a good pinch of salt and pepper.

  3. 3

    Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Rub the herb butter all over the chicken and work some under the breast skin. Season the outside generously with salt. Stuff the lemon halves into the cavity.

  4. 4

    Scatter the mirepoix (onion, carrots, celery) in the base of a roasting dish. Sit the chicken on top, breast-side up.

  5. 5

    Roast for about 1 hour 15 minutes (roughly 45 min per kg), until the juices run clear when you pierce the thigh and the skin is golden. If the skin is browning too fast, loosely tent with foil.

  6. 6

    Remove the chicken to a board, tent with foil, and rest for 15–20 minutes.

Gravy

  1. 7

    Pour a good splash of boiling stock into the hot roasting dish and scrape up all the fond with a wooden spoon.

  2. 8

    Pour everything — liquid, veg, drippings — through a sieve into a saucepan, pressing the veg to extract the flavour. Discard the pulp.

  3. 9

    Spoon off excess fat from the liquid, leaving about 2 tablespoons. Put the saucepan over medium heat.

  4. 10

    Stir in the flour and cook for a minute. Add the wine if using and let it bubble off.

  5. 11

    Gradually add the remaining stock, stirring constantly. Simmer for 5–10 minutes until it reaches the thickness you want. Season to taste.

  6. 12

    Optionally stir in a knob of cold butter at the end for a glossy, richer finish.

Notes

Total time includes 20 min resting. If using a glass roasting dish, don't put it on a stovetop burner — deglaze with boiling stock in the dish, then transfer everything to a saucepan for the gravy. If the gravy is too thick, add more stock; too thin, simmer longer.