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    Roast chicken with herb & bacon stuffing

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    Roast chicken with herb & bacon stuffing

    This roast chicken with bacon and herb stuffing makes the ideal centrepiece for Sunday lunch, plus the leftovers are great sandwich filling.

    • Preparation time: 10 minutes
    • Cooking time: Approx 2 hours

    Serves: 4 - 6

    Ingredients

    1 free range whole chicken (about 2kg)
    50g butter, softened
    1 clove garlic, crushed
    25g Cooks’ Ingredients Breadcrumbs
    200g pack Waitrose Free Range Unsmoked Lardons 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh tarragon
    1 unwaxed lemon, halved
    New potatoes and seasonal green vegetables, to serve 

    Method

    Preheat the oven to 200 ̊C, gas mark 6.

    1. In a bowl, mix about two-thirds of the softened butter with the garlic, breadcrumbs, lardons and parsley and season.

    2. Remove the string from the chicken and place the bird into a large roasting tin. Using your hand, carefully loosen the skin over each breast to make a pocket then push this mixture under the skin of the chicken to fill the pockets. See Cook’s Tip.

    3. Rub the remaining butter over the outside of the chicken and season
    well, inside and out. Push the lemon halves into the cavity. Cover with the foil and roast for about 1 hr 50 minutes (45 minutes per kg, plus an extra 20 minutes), removing the foil for the final hour of cooking.

    4. When the chicken is cooked, the juices run clear when pierced by a skewer, and there is no more pink meat, place onto a board. Re-cover with foil and leave to rest for 10-15 minutes before carving. Serve with the cooking juices spooned over and salad.

    Cook’s Tip
    Pre-filling a sink with hot, soapy water means you can wash your hands after handling the chicken without touching taps or anything in the kitchen first. 

    Your recipe note

    Edit your recipe note

    We recommend against washing raw chicken as the splashing can spread campylobacter, the most common cause of food poisoning, around your kitchen. For further info visit Food.gov.uk/chicken 

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