- 2½5kg av. whole chicken
- 60g honey
- 3 tbsp tamari
- 1½ tbsp brown rice vinegar
- 3 garlic cloves
- 3 clementines
- 1.
Heat your oven to 190°C/Fan 170°C/Gas 5. Take the chicken out of the fridge, unwrap it and remove the giblets. Pop the chicken in a roasting tin. Let it sit and come up to room temperature – around 30 mins should do.
- 2.
While the chicken is warming up, make the honey and clementine glaze. Pop the honey and 2 tbsp tamari in a bowl. Add 1 tbsp brown rice vinegar. Peel the garlic cloves and crush or grate them. Add them to the bowl. Juice 1 clementine and stir it into the mixture to make a smooth marinade.
- 3.
Quarter the remaining clementine and place it inside the chicken’s body cavity.
- 4.
Spoon the clementine marinade all over the chicken to coat it. You can tie the legs together with kitchen string to keep them neat, or just leave them as they are. Loosely cover the chicken with a large sheet of foil, scrunching it onto the sides of the tin. Slide into the oven and roast the chicken for 1 hr.
- 5.
After 1 hr take the chicken out of the oven, remove the foil and baste the chicken with spoonfuls of the juices from the tin. Return to the oven, uncovered, and roast for another 20 mins.
- 6.
Take the chicken out of the oven and check if it’s done by inserting a skewer into the thick part of a thigh. If the juices run clear, it’s ready. If not, slide back into the oven for a further 5-15 mins.
- 7.
When the chicken is cooked, take it out of the oven and set it on a warm plate or board, loosely covered with foil, to rest for 20 mins before carving. Serve in slices, with the tin juices spooned over the top.
- Tip
It's all gravy
You can make a thicker gravy with the tin juices while the chicken is roasting if you like. Pour the juices into a jug and let them sit for 10 mins, so any fat will rise to the surface. Skim the fat off. Top up the juices with stock or white wine. Melt 1 tbsp butter in a small pan and stir in 1 tbsp flour. Cook and stir for 2-3 mins, then slowly whisk in the juices and stock till they're smoothly combined. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for a few mins till the gravy has thickened slightly. - Tip
On the side
A creamy parsnip gratin is perfect with this roast chook. Peel and thinly slice 4-5 parsnips and arrange them in an ovenproof dish. Mix together 300ml full cream milk, 150ml double cream and 150ml vegetable stock with a spoonful of mustard and 1 tbsp thyme leaves. Season and pour over the parsnips to cover them. Scatter a handful of grated full flavoured hard cheese and bake on the bottom shelf of your oven for about 11/2 hrs till the pasrsnips are tender (you can cook the gratin below the chicken). - Tip
Merry Christmas
The Roast With The Most Box is taking a break for Christmas next week but it will be back from the 1st January with a cracking roast chicken rubbed with shawarma spices that will fill your new year with Levantine spice.