Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 whole roasting chicken, about 4.5lb
- 1 tbsp flaky sea salt
- 1/2 tsp olive oil
Peppercorn Cream Sauce
- 1.5 tbsp whole black peppercorns
- 2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 large shallots, finely chopped
- 1 tsp flaky sea salt
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup dry sherry cooking wine see notes for an alcohol-free option
Equipment
- Large oven-safe baking dish
- kitchen shears (if spatchcocking the chicken yourself)
- rolling pin or mortar and pestle
- meat thermometer
Method
- Spatchcock the chicken. Cut along both sides of the backbone so the chicken lies flat in your baking dish (or ask your butcher to do this for you, which is what I did). Season the underside with half the salt, then rub the skin with the olive oil and season it with the rest. Tip: whenever I work with raw meat, I keep one hand for handling the chicken and the other hand for the salt and oil, so nothing raw ends up in the salt bowl.
- Preheat. Heat your oven to 375°F (190°C) on convection.
- Crack the peppercorns. Put them between two tea towels and give them a good bash with a mallet or rolling pin, or use a mortar and pestle. You want them broken up but NOT fine. Some big pieces are exactly what you are after.
- Make the sauce. In a mixing bowl, combine the cracked peppercorns, rosemary, garlic, shallot and 1 tsp salt. Whisk in the cream and the sherry cooking wine. Set aside.
- First roast. Roast the chicken skin side up for about 15 minutes, until it is just starting to turn golden.
- Add the sauce. Take the chicken out and pour the peppercorn cream over and around it. Turn the oven up to 400°F (200°C) and pop it back in.
- Baste and roast. Roast for another 30-35 minutes, basting the chicken with the sauce twice along the way (I set a timer for every 15 minutes). It is done when it is golden and bubbling and the thickest part of the breast reads 165°F (74°C). Your kitchen will smell AMAZING.
- Rest. Let the chicken rest for at least 10 minutes before carving. I serve this with my garlic butter dinner rolls, mashed potatoes and garlicky green beans (or a simple green salad if I am keeping it easy). Whatever you choose, make sure there is something there to mop up the sauce!
Notes
- Why spatchcock? Flattening the chicken means it cooks much faster and more evenly, and more of the skin gets golden.
- Use a meat thermometer. It is the easiest way to know your chicken is cooked through without cutting into it. Check the thickest part of the breast.
- Alcohol-free: Swap the sherry cooking wine for the same amount of chicken stock with a small squeeze of lemon juice.
- Smaller chicken? Start checking the temperature a little earlier in the second roast.
