Main

Roast Chicken with Tarragon Butter

The fresh, grassy, slightly aniseed note of tarragon is a classic partner for chicken

20 minutes prep, 1 hour cook

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

A small bunch of fresh tarragon

6-8 rashers back or streaky bacon

60g unsalted butter

1 chicken, weighing 2kg

1 tsp grated lemon zest (preferably unwaxed), plus ½ the lemon

Salt and pepper

100ml white wine or chicken stock

Generous 1 tsp plain flour

150ml single cream

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. Pick the leaves off the tarragon and chop them. Mix a generous tablespoonful of chopped leaves with most of the butter – leave about 15g for finishing the sauce.

Put the tarragon butter, and the ½ lemon, inside the bird. Also spread a little butter over the roasting tin (just enough to stop the bird sticking as it starts to cook), and put the bird in.

Arrange the bacon rashers over the breast, overlapping them slightly.

Cover with a lid if the tin has one, or with a piece of oiled or buttered foil. Roast for about 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4.

After another 20 minutes, turn the bird onto the other side. Remove the foil or lid and roast for another 15–20 minutes. Keep basting from time to time with the cooking juices and seasoning with salt and pepper towards the end of cooking.

The bird is done when the juices from the thickest part of the leg run clear (pierce it with a clean skewer or the tip of a sharp knife).

Make sure the meat around the hip joint between the leg and the body is fully done; there should be no trace of pink. If there is, return the bird to the oven for a few minutes.

When the bird is cooked, remove it to a warmed plate and pour all the juices into a bowl. Deglaze the tin with the white wine, making sure it bubbles fiercely, or with a little chicken stock.

Add all the herby, buttery juices back into the roasting tin. Add the lemon zest and the remaining butter worked together with the flour. Stir well, then add the cream and the rest of the chopped tarragon, and heat until the sauce boils and thickens.