The Perfect Roast Chicken, Gravy & Stock

After 30 years of cooking our chicken, it is easy for us to forget that when you switch to a properly free-range, slow-grown chicken, the way you cook it needs to change too. Because Sutton Hoo Chickens are grown slowly, for 25% longer than standard free range, it results in a larger framed bird, as the extra time allows them to develop naturally - building stronger muscle structure, deeper flavour, and firmer texture - which means they cook slightly differently. So we’re sharing our tried-and-tested guide to roasting the perfect Sutton Hoo Chicken. You can watch the videos for these recipes too.

Whether it’s for a celebration, a Sunday gathering, or a simple supper at home, you can’t beat a properly roasted chicken. Crisp skin, juicy meat, and a vegetable trivet underneath to catch every bit of flavour for a delicious gravy -it’s simple food, done properly. We have created a new timer to help with working out how long to cook your chicken for which you can find here.

The secret to the most delicious chicken gravy lies in the giblets (which are included in our chickens) so if you put them in with a simple vegetable and herb trivet- it creates amazing flavoursome gravy. You can read more about how to cook with giblets on our blog.

The Perfect Roast Chicken

Ingredients:

·        1 Sutton Hoo Chicken

·        Giblets - Heart, neck & liver (included with chicken)

·        2 onions - peeled and halved

·        2-3 carrots - roughly chopped

·        2 celery sticks - roughly chopped

·        ½ lemon

·        Fresh sprigs of Thyme & Rosemary

·        5 garlic cloves

·        Butter

·        Sea salt

Time Saving Tip: For the vegetable trivet you can buy a soffritto mix 

Preparation:

1. 45 minutes before cooking take the chicken and butter out the fridge, bringing them to room temperature

2. In a roasting tin, create a vegetable trivet with thecarrots, celery, 2 onion halves, 3 garlic cloves and half the fresh herbs

3. Pat the chicken completely dry with kitchen towel

4. Untruss the chicken, discarding the string, and unpack the giblets. Remove all packaging and add the neck, liver and heart to the vegetable trivet

5. Place half a lemon, the remaining onion, fresh herbs and 3 garlic cloves inside the chicken cavity

6. Sit the chicken on the trivet and then rub all over with butter and season generously with salt

Tip: For even more flavour, make a compound butter and push it under the skin

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°c/350°F (gas mark 4)

2. Roast the chicken for 35 mins per kilogram (16 mins per pound). You can use our timer here to help work this out.

3. Chicken is cooked when the juices run clear after skewering into deepest part of the bird or when it reaches an internal temperature of 74 °C

4. Once cooked, place the chicken onto a board that will catch the juices. Cover lightly with foil and let it rest for 30 minutes. This gives time to make the gravy

5. Move the roasting tray with the vegetable trivet onto the hob, ready to make gravy

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The Perfect Gravy

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp plain flour

• 500ml chicken stock (homemade or high quality)

• Large glass of red or white wine

• 100ml hot water

Method:

1.     Set the roasting tray over medium- high heat on the hob and give everything a good mix. Add the flour and stir in

2.     Add the wine, water and chicken stock. Stir in whilst lifting the sticky bits off the bottom

3.     Stir regularly whilst simmering for 20-30 minutes

4.     Strain the mixture into a saucepan and put the vegetables and giblets in a large pot for making stock later

5.     Let the gravy reduce on the heat, to your desired thickness. Season to taste

6.     Keep warm or reheat gently before serving

Love your leftovers: Make Stock

After your roast - make chicken stock! Think of this as part of tidying up, not more cooking -  it takes less than five minutes to start. It’s delicious, deeply nourishing, and the best way to make the most of your roast. Perfect for soups, risottos, sauces, or your next roast’s gravy. You can watch how to make stock by clicking here.

Ingredients:

• Leftover bones and carcass

• The cooked neck and heart from your gravy base

• 1 onion, quartered

• 1 large carrot, snapped in half

• 2 celery sticks- leafy parts included

• 1 head of garlic, halved through its equator

• Any herbs: parsley, coriander, bay leaves, thyme, rosemary – use what you have.

• Salt & peppercorns

Top Tip:
Don’t throw away your tired herbs or veggie ends during the week! Keep a small freezer bag and add any bits you’d normally compost - like herb stalks, carrot tops/peels, celery ends, or old spring onions. When it’s time to make stock, just tip them all in. It’s a rewarding way to reduce waste and add a lot of extra flavour to the pot.

Method:

1. Add everything to a large pot

2. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil

3. Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook low and slow for at least 4 hours.

4. Strain and store in the fridge or freeze for later

Top tip: You can decant & freeze your stock into large ice cube trays for quick & easy use in your other meals. 

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To find out why chicken stock is so good for you, read our guest blog from Jenny Hogg, a Nutritional Therapy student here.