Weekend Special Recipe: French Roast Chicken

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Nothing can be more refreshing than preparing and relishing roasted chicken on a weekend. Weekend is the only time when you have all the time in the world to prepare something special for yourself and your family. So, today we have a special French roast chicken recipe for you.

The chicken is first marinated with a mix of exotic spices and herbs. After which it is roasted till done. This French roast chicken is a delight for all chicken lovers.

This recipe has been contributed by our expert Chef, Shravan PS.

All you need

• Oven
• Baking tray
• Dressed chicken (with skin)- 1.2kg
• Garlic cloves- 15 (finely chopped)
• Chilli powder- 1/3tsp
• Worcestershire sauce- 15tbsp
• Salt- as per taste
• Thyme powder- 1tsp
• Keya's all spice mix- 5tsp
• Onion- 1 (finely chopped)
• Parsley powder- 1tsp
• Cheddar cheese- 200 gms (grated)
• Thread to tie chicken
• Salted butter- 200 Gms
• Olive oil- 5tbsp
• Ground pepper-corn powder- 1/2tsp

For the baking bed:

• Carrots- 6 (chopped into thick juliennes)
• Onions- 2 (roughly chopped)
• Potatoes- 2 (chopped into thick juliennes )

Optional instead of Onions:

• 3 stems of Celery Roughly chopped
• 3 Stems of Leeks Roughly chopped

Preparation:

• Wash the chicken thoroughly. Using a sharp meat knife, slit the chicken evenly. 6-8 slits should be fine on either side of the midriff. Melt the butter into liquid ( don't burn it, it should be luke warm when melted ), pour into a large bowl. To this, add the Olive Oil, Worcestershire Sauce, Garlic & Onions. Mix well. This is your marinade.
• Now add the chicken and using your hands, spin it in the marinade. Leave for about 10 minutes. After this, add salt, chilli powder, thyme, parsley, allspice mix, ground pepper corn powder into the bowl & mix thoroughly. You can taste a drop of the marinade to see if the flavors have balanced out. If not, then mix more. It might taste a little strong, but this is natural of un-cooked marinades.
• You'll have to let this rest for 40 minutes. During those 40 minutes, every 5 minutes, you'll have to give the chicken a spin in marinade. Ensure that the marinade even reaches the inside areas of the dressed chicken.

Preparing Baking Tray:

• Take the baking tray & add the carrots, onions ( or celery & leaks ) & potato. Arrange it like a bed where you can place the chicken upon. Tie the legs of the chicken together & then the wings of the chicken together.
• Now, place the chicken on this bed of vegetables. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Pour whatever marinade has remained in the bowl over the chicken.

Baking:

• Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius. In the pre-heated oven, place the baking tray. Cooking time could vary between 20-35 minutes. Always use a knife to cut through your chicken to see if its cooked well. During the baking process, a lot of the marinade drips off and accumulates in the tray. So every 7-12 minutes, open the oven & using a spoon with a long stem, scoop the marinade from the tray & pour it back over the chicken. This helps the chicken retain more juice & flavor.
• Note: If you're using a microwave, do ensure that its a convection enabled on. Baking does not happen because of the Microwave. It needs heat to be generated. Most convection ovens have instructions on how to use when baking chicken. Please go through the same before you start.

Serving suggestions:

You may serve this with fries. A glass of white wine that's sweet goes very well. Ensure that your guests have a fork and knife to enjoy French cuisine. The marinade that accumulates in the tray can be served as sauce to touch the chicken to and eat. The vegetables in the tray too are edible and may be served as salad if it isn't charred too much.

About the author: The author has completed his Hotel Management from the Welcomgroup College in Manipal University & has done his Masters in Business Management from Glion in Switzerland. He currently works as a Media Buyer / Business Development Manager at a Programmatic Digital Trading Desk. As a long term goal, he aims at opening a burger shack on the beaches of Goa. He can be reached atmail@shravan.net or via LinkedIn at: http://in.linkedin.com/in/shr4van