Heston’s Roast Chicken

Ingredients

Chicken Brine (to be done 12 hours in advance or overnight):

1 x 2kg free range organic chicken

3L warm water

180g fine salt

Leftovers Stock (can use ready made chicken stock):1 leftover roast chicken carcass

some left over roasted parsnip, carrot and onion

1.5L water

Roast Chicken and Gravy:

pre-brined chicken

1 lemon, rolled and pierced

1/4 bunch thyme

125g unsalted butter, melted

1kg chicken wings

1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed with the flat part of a knife

2 tbsp skim milk powder

reserved Leftovers Stock or 1 litre ready made chicken stock

200g dry white wine

1 tsp Dijon mustard

salt and pepper, to season

Buerre Noisette:

100g butter

Roast Potatoes:

1kg Royal Blue potatoes, peeled and quartered

olive oil, for roasting
8 cloves garlic, crushed with the flat part of a knife

salt, to season

Method

Prepare the chicken in advance by combining water and salt in a large pot and stir until dissolved. Allow liquid to cool completely, add chicken and ensure that it is completely submerged in the solution. Leave in the fridge for 12 hours or overnight to brine before use.
Preheat oven to 90C.
For the Leftovers Stock, place all ingredients into a stove top pressure cooker onto the stove over high heat. Bring to pressure and cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. Once ready, remove the pressure cooker from the heat, strain liquid through a fine sieve lined with muslin cloth into a clean bowl and reserve for the Gravy.
For the Roast Chicken, remove the wishbone and any trussing from the pre-brined chicken. Open the legs of the chicken to allow air to circulate. Cut off the wingtips and parson’s nose (if it has one) and reserve these. Push the lemon and thyme into the cavity of the chicken. Rub the butter over the chicken skin and season well.
Place chicken into a heavy based roasting tray along with reserved wing tips, chicken wings, parson’s nose, carrots and garlic. Place into the oven and roast until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the chicken breast reaches 60C, about 3-4 hours. Baste chicken with pan juices every hour.
Remove chicken from the roasting tray and place onto a rack sitting over a tray to rest for 30-45 minutes. Reserve roasting tray with remaining vegetables and trimmings.
Increase oven to 200C.
Sprinkle skim milk powder over the reserved vegetables and trimmings and place back into the oven until caramelised, about 10-15 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the Buerre Noisette by placing butter into a small saucepan over low heat and cook until brown but not burnt. Remove from heat and reserve for the Gravy.
Remove the roasting tray of vegetables and trimmings from the oven and place onto the stove top over high heat. Add white wine then scrape and stir the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Add the reserved Leftovers Stock or brown chicken stock and reserved Buerre Noisette and cook until reduced to a slightly thick sauce consistency. Strain through a fine sieve into a small saucepan and set aside. Reserve the roasting tray to roast the chicken before plating.
For the Roast Potatoes, fill a separate large roasting tray with olive oil to 5mm high. Place tray into the oven to heat up.
Place prepared potatoes into a bowl under running cold water for 5 minutes to remove all starch from the surface. Place washed potatoes into a large pot and cover with water. Cook on high heat until potatoes just begin to fall apart, about 40 minutes.
Strain potatoes and turn them out onto a wire rack to dry. Once dry, remove preheated roasting tray of oil from the oven and add potatoes and crushed garlic, ensuring potatoes are spread out in one layer, flat side facing down. Stir gently to coat with the oil. Return to the oven and roast, turning occasionally until golden and crisp, about 30-35 minutes.
Remove potatoes from the oven, transfer to paper towel to drain and season with salt. Set aside on paper towel until required.
To finish the Roast Chicken, once chicken has rested, place back onto the reserved roasting tray and return to the oven to roast until golden brown, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
To serve, cut the chicken into breasts, wings, legs and thighs and warm Gravy on the stove over medium heat. Place some potatoes and chicken pieces on each plate and drizzle with Gravy.

(Heston Blumenthal – Masterchef Australia, 2016)