Looking for a fairly easy summery dish that is perfectly suited to Everhot cooking, then look no further than this Spatchcock chicken with tarragon and lemon butter from Waitrose. Infused with the subtle anise favour of tarragon, a delicate herb that complements both chicken and fish dishes really well. Serves 4.
Ingredients
- 6 gloves garlic, crushed
- 100g unsalted butter, softened
- 10g pack tarragon leaves, finely chopped
- 2 unwaxed lemons, zested then halved
- 1 chicken weighing about 1.5kg
- 100ml dry white wine
- 250ml fresh chicken stock
- 1 tsp clear honey
Method
- Beat together the garlic, butter, tarragon and lemon zest; season and set aside.
- To spatchcock the chicken, place on a board, breast-side down, with the legs facing towards you. Using kitchen scissors, cut the bird along one side of the parson’s nose, through all the rib bones. Repeat this cut on the other side of the backbone, cutting as close as possible to the bone. Pull out the backbone and discard. Turn the chicken over and spread it out. Using the heel of your hand, press firmly on the breastbone to flatten the chicken to an even thickness.
- Carefully lift the skin covering the breast and rub half of the tarragon butter over the flesh. Season the bird all over, then sit it, skin-side up, on a large, lipped roasting tin and rub the remaining butter all over it.
- Add the lemon halves to the tray, then roast the chicken for around an hour in the top oven (roasting) at around 200ºC. Adjust the time depending on the temperature you run your top oven at. The juices should run clear with no pink meat.
- Remove the chicken and lemons from the oven and transfer to a board, loosely covered with foil, to rest for 20 minutes. Put the roasting tin on the hotplate and add the wine, cook for a couple of minutes, then add the stock and the honey. Bring to a boil and transfer to the simmer plate and reduce to about a third. Season.
- Transfer the chicken to a warm serving platter, sprinkle over some torn tarragon leaves. Carve, drizzle with the sauce and serve with the lemon halves for squeezing over.