Poultry Roasting Guide

TO ROAST A CHICKEN

Bring the chicken back to room temperature – this should take no more than 30 minutes. Then weigh it and calculate the cooking time, allowing 15 minutes per 450g/1lb plus an extra 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas Mark 7. Season the gut cavity of the chicken with salt and pepper, and stuff with a handful of herbs, lemon or garlic if you wish.
Now truss the chicken - this keeps the bird in a compact shape, and pulls the legs close in to the body which helps to stop them drying out. Sit the chicken on a board with its neck cavity and wings facing you. Take a long piece of string – about an arm’s length – and slide it under the bird so that it lies around its ‘waist’ (i.e. between the wings and the legs). Pull the ends of the string so that you have an equal amount of string on either side. Take one end of the string in each hand and run it along the gap between the legs and the body, and under the end of each drumstick. Bring the ends of the string to the outside of the bird and over the top of each drumstick ends. Tie them together, as closely as you can. Pass each end of the string under the parsons nose – in opposite directions - and tie together once more, over the tops of the parsons nose.
Put the chicken into a small roasting tin and rub all over with a little softened butter or olive oil. Season well on the outside with more salt and pepper, slide into the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Then lower the oven temperature to 190C/375F/Gas Mark 5 and roast for the remainder of the calculated cooking time.
Remove the chicken from the oven, lift it onto a board and cover with foil. Le3ave for 10-15 minutes before carving.

ROASTING GUINEA FOWL, POUSSINS & QUAIL

Simply rub these smaller birds with olive oil of softened butter, season and roast as you would a chicken, allowing:

Guinea Fowl - 15 minutes per 450g/1lb at 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6

Poussin – 15 minutes per 450g/1lb at 220C/425F/Gas Mark 7

Quail – at 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 for 15-20 minutes