This is without a doubt my absolute favourite way to roast a chook. I know I normally spend a couple of paragraphs waffling on about the how and the why, but this time I am simply going to let the flavour of the dish speak for itself. I promise you will not be disappointed!
What you’ll need
For the Chicken ...
- 1 decent size whole chicken (1.8kg – 2kg)
- 1 bunch fresh oregano (leaves picked)
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled but left whole
- 2 heaped tablespoons of duck fat (you can use butter if you can’t find duck fat)
- 1/2 Lemon
- 1 tablespoon Tomato Paste
- 500ml Chicken Stock
- 250ml dry white wine (whatever you are drinking)
- Salt & Pepper
For the Creamed Corn ...
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 brown onion, peeled and diced
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 4 corn cobs
- Olive Oil
- A good pinch of dried thyme leaves (you can use fresh thyme if you have it)
- 150ml white wine
- 250ml chicken stock
- Salt & Pepper
How to put it together ...
1. Pre heat your oven to 200C.
2. Remove the chicken from its packaging and give it a good wash inside and out. Pat it down with some paper towels.
3. Place the 2 peeled garlic cloves and picked oregano leaves into mortar and pestle with a really good pinch of salt and grind everything up into a smooth paste. This will release all the flavoursome oils locked within the oregano leaves.
4. Mix the duck fat (or butter) in with the oregano mixture and put it aside for the moment.
5. Place the chicken on a chopping board with the legs pointing towards you and the breasts facing up. What you need to do is slip your fingers under the breast skin to free it from the flesh and push carefully all the way down to the front of the chicken on both sides. Be careful not to puncture or tear the skin.
6. Using your hands, take a big scoop of the seasoned duck fat and evenly paste it under the skin of the chicken all over the breasts. Its messy work but well worth it :) Make sure you use up all of the mixture.
7. Place 1/2 a lemon up the cavity of the chook giving it light squeeze to release some of the juice.
8. Now what we are going to do is “truss” the chicken by binding its legs together using the flappy part of the breast skin. This keeps the bird nice and snug in the pan, retains juices in the cavity but also means you don’t need to use any string.
To do this, pull the breast skin tightly towards you and using a knife make a small incision at the central point about 1cm from the top of the cavity.
Tuck the end of each leg/drumstuck through the whole so that the legs cross.
9. Pour the wine into a large baking dish and carefully place the chicken in the dish with the breasts facing up.
10. Whisk the tomato paste into the chicken stock and then pour the stock mixture all over the bird. Season the chicken with a good pinch of salt and some freshly cracked pepper.
11. Place in the oven and roast for approx 1h 10 mins (depending on the size of the chicken but check the packet for cooking times). Rotate the chicken around a couple of times in order to cook evenly.
12. When the chicken is ready, remove it from the oven and put the chicken in a deep dish or on a large plate; cover with foil and a tea towel and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.
While the chicken is roasting, its time to make the creamed corn ...
13. In a small frying pan, toast the cumin seeds over a low flame until fragrant (you can also put them into a small ramekin and drop them in the oven for 5 mins. Allow the cumin to cool a little then grind them up in a mortar and pestle.
14. Strip the ears and silk from the corn and cut the kernels away from the cob by running a sharp knife down the sides – try to avoid getting any of the tough white husk.
15. Place a small sauce pan over a moderate heat. Add some olive oil and sauté the onion for several minutes until lightly caramelised.
16. Add the corn, ground cumin, garlic and thyme, then sauté for approx 10 minutes until the sugars from the corn just start to catch on the base of the pan.
17. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, add the stock, reduce the heat and leave simmer for a good 25 mins until the corn is nice and tender (stirring occasionally).
18. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Set aside a large spoonful of the corn mixture and then blend the rest in a food processor. Return the saved corn and re-heat when you are ready to serve.
For the Jus ...
19. While the chicken is resting you will need to carefully spoon the excess fat from the baking dish. All that duck fat or butter will have dripped through the chicken to flavour it but you don’t want to eat it in the sauce. To do this angle the roasting pan so the liquid flows down to 1 corner – you should see a transparent layer of fat sitting on top of the red tinged stock wine mixture. Use a spoon to carefully remove as much of the oil as you can and discard.
20. Place the baking dish on your stove over a medium heat, add any resting juices from the chicken and let it simmer away until it reaches a sauce consistency. If the pan has dried out while baking you can top it up with a little more chicken stock.
21. Carefully carve the chicken breast off the bone (skin and all) and place it on top of a large spoonful of creamed corn on a plate. Spoon over some of the sauce and enjoy with some crunchy greens.
