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Ingredients
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Roast Chicken
Gravy
Method
Roast Chicken
Prepare
Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Remove the chicken from the refrigerator 30 minutes before roasting to bring closer to room temperature.
Season and stuff
Pat the chicken dry thoroughly with paper towels. Season the cavity with 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt and a pinch of pepper. Stuff the cavity with halved lemon, smashed garlic cloves, and the thyme and rosemary sprigs.
Butter and truss
Combine softened butter with remaining 1 tablespoon kosher salt and 1 tsp black pepper. Gently loosen the skin over the breasts with your fingers and smear about two-thirds of the butter mixture under the skin directly onto the breast meat. Rub the remaining butter mixture all over the outside of the chicken. Optionally truss the legs with kitchen twine to ensure even roasting.
Vegetable bed
Place the quartered onion, carrots, and celery in the bottom of a roasting pan. Drizzle the vegetables with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Set the chicken on top of the vegetables, breast side up. Pour 250 ml chicken stock (or water) into the pan around the vegetables (not over the chicken).
Roast
Roast in the preheated oven for approximately 60–75 minutes for a 1 kg chicken (allow ~20 minutes per 500g as a guideline), or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (avoiding bone) reads 75°C (165°F). Baste once with pan juices halfway through roasting.
Rest
Remove the chicken from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Tent loosely with foil and rest for 15–20 minutes before carving. While the chicken rests, collect the pan drippings for the gravy: carefully pour the liquid and solids through a fine-mesh strainer into a measuring cup or bowl, reserving about 200 ml of strained drippings (fat + juices).
Gravy
Separate fat
If the reserved pan drippings have a lot of settled fat, spoon off and discard excess so you have about 1 tablespoon fat remaining in the cup. If you have less fat, add 1 tablespoon unsalted butter to make approximately 1 tbsp fat to cook the flour.
Make roux
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (or use the reserved fat). Whisk in 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1–2 minutes until the mixture turns a light golden color and loses the raw flour taste.
Deglaze and combine
Optional: add a 30 ml splash of dry white wine to the roasting pan to deglaze, scraping up any brown bits; pour into the saucepan. Gradually whisk in 250 ml additional chicken stock and the reserved ~200 ml strained pan juices. Whisk constantly to combine and smooth out any lumps.
Simmer and adjust
Bring the gravy to a gentle simmer and cook for 5–7 minutes until slightly thickened. Taste and season with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, adjusting to taste. If gravy is too thick, thin with small amounts of stock or water; if too thin, simmer a few minutes longer.
Strain and serve
For a glossy smooth gravy, strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a warmed gravy boat or small serving bowl. Serve alongside the carved roast chicken.