USE good-quality fresh-range chicken. Starting with the best bird is the first step to tasty results.
Start breast side down
POSITIONING the chicken breast side down allows all the juices to gather in the breast meat during the first half of cooking. When you flip the bird, those juices slowly redistribute but leave plenty of moisture behind to keep that white meat really juicy.
Use high heat
HEAT is roast chicken's best friend. A 230C oven browns the skin quickly and keeps it nice and crisp.
Don't overcook
AN overcooked chicken is a dry chicken.
To prevent overcooking, use a thermometer as your most reliable indicator of "doneness". It should read 75C. Let it rest. Don't be tempted to cut into the chicken as soon as it's out of the oven.
Resting for at least 15 minutes on the cutting board allows the juices to redistribute into the meat, making it moist and tender.
For a basic approach, rub the outside of the bird with softened unsalted butter, which encourages browning, and work some butter and other seasonings under the skin of the breast to help keep it moist and to add some flavour to the mild meat.
A generous dose of salt and pepper both outside and inside the bird's cavity is important so that the seasonings can be absorbed into the meat during roasting - it's more effective than trying to season the surface later.
Put other flavour additions into the cavity - herbs, lemons, cloves of garlic - which help flavour the meat and especially the pan juices during the cooking.
