Roast Chicken

So, yes, when eating for one, one possible option is to just roast smaller birds. But I was off buying some chicken for a caesar salad on Sunday and the price difference between filleted portions and whole birds really sank in for the first time. I could buy two chicken breasts (the smallest pack size, so if you're one you're stuck with leftovers anyway) for about £5 (price per kilo: £15), or I could buy a whole chicken for £6 (price per kilo: £5). So I bought a whole chicken.

I'm not going to act like this is just going to make one neat meal and that's that. You're going to need a freezer unless you want to eat chicken for every meal for a few days. It's also time consuming, but... the first roasting stage is very quick, and then you can stick the carcass in the fridge for a couple of days until you're ready to deal with the rest of it.


You need: a 1.5 kilo (or thereabouts) chicken. And an oven pre-heated to 180 degrees.

The first step is to add a large quantity of butter. The chicken needs this most on its breasts (don't we all?), so, starting at the thin end of them, pull the skin away from the flesh; it will be slightly reluctant but if you gradually slide your fingers under the skin you can ease it away. Fill a tablespoon with butter and slide it into the gap between the skin and the flesh, and then, with a finger on the outside of the skin, push the butter off the spoon and pull the spoon out, so you have a neat little pat of it under the skin. You can then massage it about until it's more spread out. Repeat on the other breast.

Then you add some flavourings to the inside of the bird. I like to go for half a lemon, two or three cloves of garlic (smashed somewhat), and a sprig of thyme or similar, if I have one hanging around. You could go for something more outlandish (lime, ginger and chilli? orange and five-spice? tomato, plantain and rum?) but do remember that those flavours will then imbue all the other meals you're going to make later. Grind a lot of salt over the top.

And then you put it in the oven for 20 minutes per kilo of weight, plus 10-20 minutes extra. For a 1.5 kilo chicken this will be about 45 minutes, which divides neatly into three sections of 15 minutes. After each of the first two sections, remove the chicken from the oven, baste with the fat and juices, and grind more salt over the skin. After the last section, remove it from the oven. The official advice is to stick a knife into the thigh to check for any pink juices, but I find that the bit of breast right next to the thigh always takes longest to cook, so that's where I stick my knife. If you do get some blood running out, stick it back in the oven for another 10 minutes.


A warm chicken salad


I made a chicken caesar salad with the first warm pickings from my chicken. Actually, I lie. The first thing I did was to peel the crispy, salty skin off the breasts and eat it. All. But then, I made a caesar salad; however, I used ready-made dressing and I don't think you need a recipe for that, so here's something else.

I remember an episode of a Jamie Oliver show (can't remember which) where he makes a big deal of throwing lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber away, because he wants to "pimp up" (or something) our ideas of salad. Well, sorry, Jamie, but I like normal salads. For one person, you need:

100g watercress
3 very good tomatoes
1/2 cucumber

Start work once the chicken has been out of the oven for 10 minutes. Pick over the watercress and remove the thick stems; even when eating alone there is little less dignified than having half a stem of watercress hanging out the edge of your mouth. Cut the tomatoes into halves, and then into thin wedges from stem to tip, so you get half-moon shapes. Halve the cucumber lengthways, then scoop out the seeds and slice thinly to match the tomatoes.

Make a dressing with:
1 tsp dijon mustard
1tbs white wine or cider vinegar
1tbs olive oil
and a good sprinkle of salt

Strip the chicken off one of the breasts: it should be cool enough by now to do this with your fingers. Pull into strands, then toss together with the salad and dressing.


Chicken sandwich


The downside to having a chicken between two people is that there is very rarely any leftover white meat. Not the case here, though: #singlepersonwin.

I do think that the best chicken sandwich is one that contains stuffing, but making stuffing as well as roasting a chicken for one person seems a little over the top even to me. Therefore, my perfect leftover chicken lunch or light supper requires:

Two very thick slices of good quality brown bread
Mayonnaise (shop bought. I just daren't make my own. You may, in which case do.)
Tarragon
Thin slices chicken breast meat.

I recommend toasting the bread, as that keeps it slightly stiff, thus avoiding the dreaded half-sandwich flop and consequent loss of lunch to the floor. Chop the tarragon very finely, stir into the mayo and spread this on both pieces of toast. Add slices of chicken. Munch.


This leaves you with brown meat and some bones. The obvious thing to recommend here is risotto, so I shall. You should make the bones into chicken stock by sticking them in a casserole dish with around 1.5 litres of water, a quartered onion, a bay leaf or two, and maybe a carrot if you happen to have one hanging around. Bring this up to a boil on the hob, then leave in the oven at 120 degrees for two hours or so. I freeze stock in 750ml portions, as that's what I need to make risotto, but I believe the sensible thing to do is to freeze it in smaller portions, so you can be adaptable about the manner in which you use your stock.


By this stage, it's probably three days after you originally cooked your chicken, so it's time to just stick the rest of the meat in the freezer. Then it's around for those moments when what you really need is pie...