Orange and Thyme Roasted Chicken with Gravy
This is one of my favourite ways to have chicken. Roasting the bird with orange, herbs, and vegetables in its cavity gives it a wonderful flavour, making it delicious both hot and cold. If there are ever leftovers, I find myself going back to the fridge again and again until I’ve picked it clean. I just love this. It’s so full of flavour. I should really have the discipline to at least put it with a salad.
You roast the chicken for a total of 2 hours — 30 minutes at 200°C and 1 hour 30 minutes at 180°C. You baste the chicken with its juices every 30 minutes, except for the final 30 minutes, when you squeeze over some freshly squeezed orange juice. This helps crisp up the skin. You could use water or white wine instead of orange juice if you prefer.
If you’re easily distracted like me and forget any of the steps, don’t worry — this is a very simple recipe, and things will be fine even if you don’t follow it to the letter. If you forget to baste the chicken, it will still be fine; basting just makes the meat a bit juicier. If you lose track of what you’re doing and squeeze over orange juice instead of the chicken’s juices, as I did here after the first 30 minutes, don’t worry — it will still be fine. If you forget to roast the onions, that’s more of an issue, as they’re needed for the gravy, but you can fry them with the roasting juices as a workaround.
To thicken the gravy, I use a cornflour slurry rather than a roux. This is because I don’t skim the fat off the roasting juices, so it doesn’t need any extra fat added. The gravy can be made simply by simmering the roasting juices and roasted onions with chicken stock, salt, and pepper, blending it, and thickening it with a little cornflour. Passing the gravy through a sieve after blending makes it much smoother. I add orange, mustard, and a few other things to the gravy. To be honest, I make it a little differently every time, changing what I add depending on what I’m after that day. I’ve given the basic recipe below and noted the kinds of things I add depending on my mood.
Ingredients
- ~1.5kg chicken
- bunch of fresh thyme
- 1 - 2 oranges
- ~4 medium-sized onions (~350g), peeled & chopped
- small piece of carrot
- celery
- 2 garlic cloves
- bayleaf
- 300ml chicken stock
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 1 tsp mustard (wholegrain or Dijon), optional
- ½ tsp red wine vinegar (or splash of white wine), optional
- milk or cream, optional
- soy sauce, optional
- ~1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt & black pepper
Instructions
- Meat that is allowed to come to room temperature before cooking will taste more tender, so take the chicken out of the fridge a good half‑hour before roasting it. Do not wash the chicken — this is what the food safety guidelines advise.
- After 30 minutes, remove all the packaging and place the chicken into a roasting tin. Rub some extra‑virgin olive oil into the skin. Sprinkle salt and freshly ground black pepper all over the bird. Place a sprig of thyme underneath, some thyme leaves on top, and a few in the folds of the legs and wings.
- If you find a fold of fat inside the cavity, remove and discard it. I don’t separate the juices from the fat when making the gravy, so no extra fat is needed.
- Into the cavity, place a bay leaf, sprigs of thyme, a little celery, a quarter of an onion, two bruised garlic cloves, a small piece of carrot, and half an orange with half its juice squeezed out. This adds flavour and moisture as the chicken roasts.
- Place the chicken in the oven at 200°C for 30 minutes.
- Then take it out and add the rest of the chopped onions to the pan. Spoon any juices in the pan over the onions, then return the roasting tin to the oven.
- Turn the heat down to 180°C and roast for 30 minutes.
- Take it out again and spoon the juices over the onions and the bird. Return to the oven for another 30 minutes and repeat.
- When there are only 30 minutes of roasting left, take the chicken out and pour over the freshly squeezed juice of half an orange. Return the pan to the oven for the final 30 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the oven, transfer it to a serving tray or plate, and leave it to rest while you make the gravy.
- If you want the gravy to have a strong orange flavour, add the zest of an orange to a dry pan and heat it for a minute or two.
- Pick off any burnt or very dry pieces of onion from the roasting tin. Scrape the rest of the onions and roasting juices into a pan. Pour a little boiling water into the tin and use it to loosen all the roasting goodness, then add this to the pan as well.
- Add 300ml of chicken stock to the pan along with the roasted onions. Add some thyme leaves and the juice of half an orange. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and let simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Before blending, stir in some salt and pepper and taste. If you want to bring out the orange flavour, you can add a little vinegar or a dash of white wine. If you like mustard, add a teaspoon of mustard.
- Pour the contents of the pan into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. For a truly silky gravy, pass it through a sieve into a bowl.
- Pour about four‑fifths of the sieved gravy back into the pan. Add a tablespoon of cornflour to the remaining gravy in the bowl and mix until smooth. Stir this slurry into the gravy in the pan. Turn on the heat and gently bring the gravy to the boil, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. It will take a few minutes to thicken.
- When thickened, turn off the heat. Taste and adjust the seasoning. I often add a little soy sauce and/or milk or cream at this point. If you want it sweeter, you could add honey or maple syrup — I never do, as I find it sweet enough already, but adjust it to suit your taste.
- This chicken makes excellent leftovers, as it’s delicious both hot and cold. But if you’re serving it as a roast chicken dinner, serve once the gravy is done. It takes me about 20 minutes to make the gravy, which is just the right amount of time for the chicken to rest.
