Parsley Roasted Whole Chicken

This is perhaps the first time I have bought chicken with skin. It is also incidentally the first time I used parsley and must say we quite liked this herb. I have followed the recipe posted by Arundhati of My Saffron Kitchen with some tiny variations. I am replicating the recipe here primarily for my own records.

Ingredients

Whole chicken with skin, 1.4 kg,

Unsalted butter, 50 gm, softened,

Worcestershire sauce, 1 tbsp,

A good handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped,

Garlic paste, 1 tbsp,

Red chilli powder, 1 tsp,

Freshly ground black pepper, 1 tsp,

Salt to taste,

Lemon, 1 no., quartered,

Onions, 2 nos., medium sized, quartered,

Garlic Bulb, 1 no., broken into cloves,

Method

Pre-heat oven to 240° C. Rinse the chicken and pat it dry. Make sure to dry it completely. That's important to have a crispy chicken. Ensure the chicken is completely thawed before you roast it.

In a bowl, mix the softened butter, Worcestershire sauce, chopped parsley, garlic paste, red chilli powder, crushed black pepper and salt. Smear most of it all over the chicken evenly. Now, to season the chicken under the skin, place it breast side up. Gently lift the skin from the chicken and spread about 2 tbsp. of the mixture underneath the skin. Press to distribute evenly. Also, season the cavity generously with this mixture.

Next, stuff the cavity of the bird with lemon, onions and garlic cloves.

Place the chicken on a roasting tray. If you want, you can place vegetables like carrots, potatoes and tomatoes etc. to be roasted along with the chicken. Put into the oven for 1 1/2 hours. Turn the side after 45 minutes so that the skin is deep golden brown and crisp on both sides.