This is a real old classic using fresh herbs I had on the balcony. It takes about 15 minutes to prepare the chicken and 1 hour to cook it. You will love this recipe.
1½kilochickencorn fed, or free range, see notes below
120grbuttersoftened
2teassagefresh, finely chopped
2teasrosemaryfresh, finely chopped
2teasthymefresh, finely chopped
2teasparsleyfresh, finely chopped
½teassalt
½teasblack pepperfreshly grated
1lemoncut in half
for the sauce
2dlwhite wine
3tbspbuttercut into cubes
Instructions
Take 120 grams of butter out to soften in a warm place.
Preheat your oven to 200°C, or ( 375°F).
Wash the chicken taking care to remove the small brown glands in the chickens lower spine you see when you look into the bird, now dry the chicken.
Then insert your fingers under the skin of the breasts and work it loose from the odyt. The pocket you create should go all the way to where the wings are attached. Do the same on just the tops of each leg. This will create a place for you to put in the butter which will baste and flavor the bird as it roasts. Take care not to rip the skin as you do this. If you do you, can repair it using a toothpick by knitting it back together after you have tied up the bird.
Take the butter in a small bowl, and add all the finely chopped herbs, salt and give it a good grinding of black pepper, and mix very well. Taste for salt.
Take the lemon and cut it in half and insert both halves into the bird. Be sure that the cut sides are not facing each other. Take 2/3 your herb butter and form it into a little flat disk and place it under the skin of the chicken breasts smoothing it out so that it covers the entire breast evenly.
Take from the remaining amount a small ball of butter (about a teas.) and place it on under the skin on top of the legs.
Now take the remaining herb butter and with your hands cover the whole top of the bird, any excess butter you should smooth over the fold where the top of the leg rests against the breast. (see above photo) Place the chicken in a roasting pan just large enough to hold it and place in the middle of a preheated oven and roast for 1 hour.
If the bird is a little larger it will take a little longer. You can check by sticking the point of a small knife into the thigh of the chicken just under the thigh bone. If the juice runs clear it should be cooked.The internal temp should be 75°C / 165°F
To make the sauce
When the chicken comes out of the oven have your stove already hot. Take the chicken from the pan and place on a serving plate. Take the pan and pour off all the fat, leaving the juices from the chicken in the roasting pan. Place on the heat and add 2 dl. or (1/3 cup) white wine and boil down until you have about 4 large dessert spoons of liquid. Be sure to scrape up any bits that are stuck to the bottom of the roasting pan. Remove from the heat and add 2 tbls of butter whisking it into the sauce, taste for salt and pepper, then transfer to a warmed sauce bowl.
Notes
On this night it was served with potatoes that I peeled and steamed for 15 minutes, then finished off in a pan with butter and parsley. Really any potato dish will go with this, how about mashed potatoes with lots of butter?Supermarket chickens here in Sweden are one of the worse products that is possible to find (tastes like a cardboard box that once had feathers) and what can you expect from a 1-kilo package of frozen chicken breasts for 89 kronor on sale? Everyone wants it cheap!I personally think that the best free-range corn-fed chickens come from France and you will have to pay for them. But Viva la difference!This is a classic recipe and you can make it in the morning and cook it that night or the day after. Your guests will love it and in its original form, the recipe used what is known as fine herbs, tarragon (dragon), thyme (timjan), parsley (persilja) and chervil .(körvel). I have tried it with a very good mix of Herb du Provence which worked beautifully as well. The lemon was not in the original recipe but I think it really adds greatly to the general overall finished dish.About the sauce, in reality, you don't get much sauce from a roast chicken, about a dessert spoon per portion. Unfortunately, that is just the way life is. So don't expect too much from one roast chicken.If you don't have white wine in the house you can use Vermouth or use the same amount of chicken stock from a liquid concentrate such as Bong's chicken fond.I cannot recommend this recipe too much as I have been making it for years and still enjoy it every time I do. Not to mention how super easy it is to make.