The Tear-My-Hair-Out Roast Chicken

I did some serious battle with this roast chicken! Prior to dinner, I envisioned a whole chook in all its golden glory. But it was a far cry from chicken Perfecto. The bird refused to cook through. I thawed it for 24 hours in the fridge but I think it was still slightly frozen inside. Gah! My probe thermometer registered 68^oC, a sign that it was ready to be rested so the residual heat will take it up to 70^oC – 75^oC. Well it would have helped if I poked it in the right spot. I should quit day-dreaming; instead of sticking it in the thickest part of the leg, I tested the chicken breast which of course cooks faster than the leg. Aargh! I had high hopes for this chicken as I referred to Neil Perry’s recipe from his The Food I Love book. It would have turned out beautiful! Such a simple recipe; extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and freshly grated pepper and still I stuffed it up. J heard me howling when I spied pink in the chicken thighs after resting the bird for 20 minutes so I chucked it back in the oven for a further 15 minutes and it still didn’t cook through. And I was aware that the chicken breast was drying out because it’s already cooked so in the end I had to snip the legs and finish them off in a frying pan. So note to self – Make sure entire bird is completely thawed before roasting. Pink chicken equals DISASTER especially if it happens elsewhere.

The redeeming part of this dish was the carrot and roasted onion puree and crisp-baked potato slices which I simply made up. Phew…brain still functioning then. There’s one whole carrot finely grated and caramelised with butter, a touch of vinegar and then pureed with the baked onions that the chicken was roasting on. I brushed the potato slices with melted butter, seasoned with cracked black pepper and salt and placed rosemary leaves on them, baked at 200^oC for about 20 minutes and it turned out delicious. Tossed a few peas in and there you have it, the Tear-My-Hair-Out roast chicken dinner.