Isle of Wight Garlic Roast Chicken
Succulent whole roast chicken infused with sweet Isle of Wight garlic butter, roasted over halved garlic bulbs and pan juices.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 80 min
- Total
- 100 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 620 kcal
Equipment
- •Roasting tin
- •Chef's knife
- •Chopping board
- •Basting spoon
- •Meat thermometer
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 620 kcal
- fat
- 42 g
- carbs
- 8 g
- fibre
- 1 g
- protein
- 48 g
- calories
- 620 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Preheat your fan oven to 180°C (200°C conventional or gas mark 6).
- 2
Crush 2 peeled garlic cloves and mash together with softened butter, chopped thyme, salt, and pepper.
- 3
Carefully loosen the skin over the chicken breasts using your fingertips.
- 4
Spread the seasoned garlic butter evenly under the skin across both breasts.
- 5
Place the halved lemon, remaining peeled garlic cloves, and rosemary sprigs inside the chicken cavity.
- 6
Scatter the onion wedges and horizontally halved garlic heads cut-side up across the roasting tin.
- 7
Sit the chicken on top of the garlic and onions in the roasting tin.
- 8
Drizzle olive oil over the skin and season the outside generously with sea salt.
- 9
Pour the white wine and chicken stock into the bottom of the tin around the aromatics.
- 10
Roast for 1 hour 20 minutes, basting twice, until the skin is deep golden and juices run clear.
- 11
Rest the chicken on a warm carving board covered loosely with foil for 15 minutes.
- 12
Squeeze the sweet, caramelised garlic cloves from their papery skins directly into the pan juices to serve.
Chef's tips
Letting the butter sit at room temperature makes slipping it under the chicken skin effortless without tearing. If the exposed garlic bulbs in the tin brown too quickly, baste them with the pan juices or tuck them lightly under the chicken.
Ingredient substitutions
- Isle of Wight garlic heads → standard hardneck or purple garlic heads
- unsalted butter → dairy-free block butter
- dry white wine → additional chicken stock with a squeeze of lemon juice
Storage
Store leftover carved meat and roasted garlic in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheating
Reheat carved chicken slices covered with a splash of stock in a fan oven at 160°C until piping hot throughout.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Tearing the breast skin while pushing the butter underneath, which allows moisture to escape.
- •Discarding the roasted garlic skins before squeezing out the rich, mellow pulp for the gravy.
- •Carving immediately without resting, which causes the chicken juices to spill out onto the board.
Serving suggestions
Cooked Isle of Wight Garlic Roast Chicken?
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