The Good King Henry, one of the most popular rulers of France is attributed as saying "Si Dieu me prête vie, je ferai qu’il n’y aura point de laboureur en mon royaume qui n’ait les moyens d’avoir le dimanche une poule dans son pot!" "God willing, every working man in my kingdom will have a chicken in the pot every Sunday, at the least!"

I guess in those days, anyone given a chicken to put in a pot would have known what to do with it. Today however, an aversion to handling raw ingredients and an over reliance on convenience foods could cause much consternation amongst the chattering classes should our benevolent government start spending money on the distribution of uncooked chooks.

Fact is though, anyone who enjoys good food can learn to cook and routinely prepare simple, delicious meals. Common confusion with cooking and the broader, duller chores of domesticity, frequently results in reluctance for people to take the trouble to prepare meals properly. British food writer Jane Grigson lamented that the availability of convenience foods and sauces allows even the worst of cooks to keep the family alive without realising how little skill s/he has.

Convenience foods without doubt have their place and, like Grigson, I have no patience for food Puritanism, however one needs to challenge the status quo, preserve the variations in the seasons and the freshness and quality of produce, and demand that food taste how it is meant to taste so that our grandchildren may enjoy the same.

To do this we need to know how to embrace the details of providing sustenance and to return to sitting around the table with family and friends, sharing the same food and conversation, savouring the tastes, flavours and aromas of home cooked meals. Cooking something delicious can be such a satisfactory thing to do. Grigson rightly remarks that one should be fearless in learning; cooking mistakes have the good tact to disappear. Unlike other early, amateurish artistic attempts, they don’t hang on the walls or sit on the shelves to reproach you forever. Surely learning how to roast a chicken is a wonderful place to start.

For years I battled with cramped kitchens, unreliable ovens and cluttered bench spaces which seemed to render preparation of a Roast Chicken a nightmare. I struggled with beds of leeks and baby carrots, shoving herb infused butter under the skin of the bird, massaging, basting, turning, fiddling; always delicious but frequently messy and ridiculously complicated.

Recently I discovered a newspaper article about three Michelin star, American chef, Thomas Keller of Per Se (New York) and The French Laundry (San Francisco) fame. He shared his favourite recipe – Roast Chicken. I adopted it with fervour and sent copies to all my family and friends. This is the simplest version of roasting a chook imaginable; not simple in terms of skimping on work and ingredients but simple in avoiding unnecessary complications and elaboration.

That said, Roast Chicken is not a dish necessarily for someone wanting to produce dinner for 6 in 30 minutes flat. This is a dish for someone who has the time to take the trouble to prepare a meal that will change how people feel.

Elizabeth David was famous for saying that “Good food is always a trouble and its preparation should be regarded as a labour of love.” This is a recipe for those wanting to take the trouble to provide first class food for their family and friends. When prepared with due care and skill and regard for the quality of the ingredients you will produce a well balanced meal that is neither extravagant nor pretentious.

As David says, a chicken cooked whole and jointed before serving can produce a juicy bird of melting quality, beautifully golden brown all over. The only sauce needed is supplied by the juices in the pan, which are poured off into a sauce boat and served separately.

Thomas Keller’s Roast Chicken

Serves 4 – 6

Ingredients

• 1.5 – 2kg free range chicken
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoon chopped thyme or tarragon
• Unsalted butter
• Dijon mustard

Equipment

• Paper towel or clean tea towel
• A baking pan that is just big enough to fit the chicken, if it is too large, the juices will burn off during cooking and rather than having a delicious sauce you will be left with an impossible pan to clean.
• A length of white or natural coloured string or kitchen twine
• Platter for resting and serving
• Sharp, heavy carving knife and fork

Method

• Preheat oven to 230c
• Remove the chicken from the fridge about half an hour before planning to cook it.
• Rinse chicken inside and out and pat dry thoroughly with towelling. This recipe relies on minimal steam being created in a very hot oven.
• Place the chicken, breast side up, in a pan that contains it well, (i.e not too large) and salt and pepper the cavity.
• Truss the bird by tying the “ankles” together with a piece of white string. Trussing the legs together helps protect the breast from drying out and allows the bird to cook more evenly.
• Sprinkle 1 dessertspoon of salt over the bird and grind pepper over, gently rub into the skin, this will make the skin crispy , salty and flavoursome
• Place the pan in the middle of the preheated oven
• Leave in the oven for 1 hour (1.5kg bird) or 1 ¼ hours (2kg bird), do not open the door, turn the bird or attempt to baste it with anything, just let it be.
• At the end of cooking time the bird should be crisp and golden brown. Do not prod or poke or stab the bird, just remove it from the oven, add the thyme or tarragon to the pan juices and gently paint or drizzle the juices over the bird.
• Remove the bird from the baking pan and place on a warm platter and rest the chicken, breast side down. This allows the juices to drain into the breast meat rather than onto the plate. Keep uncovered in a warm, draught free area for at least 15 minutes. Do not be tempted to prod or poke, once again, leave it be, it will be delicious and by now you should be very pleased with yourself.
• Gently warm the juices in the pan, tasting to ensure it is not too salty to serve.
• Remove the string from the ankles of the bird with scissors. Drain any juices on the platter into the other juices in the pan on the stove.
• Place the chicken, breast side up, on a carving board, ideally resting on a tea towel or newspaper.

To section the chicken

• Remove the wing tips and distribute these to your helpers.
• Gently push the leg away from the body and insert the knife into the joint. Search with the tip of the knife to the place of least resistance in the joint and cut the leg from the body.
• Place the leg and attached drumstick, face side up on the board and separate the two, cutting through with the knife. Repeat for the other leg and place these 4 portions on the warm serving plate.
• Cut through the breast bone, lengthways, into the cavity and displaying the vertebrae; cut through the vertebrae, searching with your knife as you go, for place of least resistance. The body of the bird is now in 2 pieces with wings attached.
• Turn each piece, presentation side up and cut into three sections, across the body. Arrange these on the serving platter. You have just sectioned a chicken! Not particularly elegant I know, but after a couple of goes you will be very good at this.

To Serve

• Slather the flesh with fresh butter and place additional sprigs of thyme or tarragon over the chicken and platter
• Strain the heated pan juices into a warmed jug to offer separately at the table
• Serve with mustard and a green salad. Roasted or mashed potatoes are often insisted upon but you could get away with offering an excellent baguette instead. In the words of Escoffier : “Faites Simple!”

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