SHOPPING LIST: Cooking Skills: Chicken 1, Chapter 2 (Roast Chicken)

A whole chicken (about 1.6 kg, free-range if you can), lemons, garlic, fresh thyme, rosemary and parsley, butter, onions, carrots, parsnips, new or floury potatoes, plain flour, low-salt chicken stock (Cooking Skills: Soups and Stocks 1, chapter 1) or a carton, kitchen string, flaked sea salt, black pepper, olive oil, a roasting tin and a probe thermometer.

A simple roast chicken (4 portions)
[ ] 1.6 kg whole chicken
[ ] 40 g soft butter
[ ] 1 lemon, halved
[ ] 2 tsp flaked sea salt
[ ] 1 tsp black pepper

A lemon and herb roast with vegetables (4 portions)
[ ] 1.6 kg whole chicken
[ ] 2 onions, quartered
[ ] 3 carrots, cut into chunks
[ ] 2 parsnips, cut into chunks
[ ] 500 g new potatoes, halved
[ ] 1 lemon, halved
[ ] 6 sprigs thyme
[ ] 3 tbsp olive oil
[ ] 2 tsp flaked sea salt

Butter under the skin (4 portions)
[ ] 1.6 kg whole chicken
[ ] 60 g soft butter
[ ] 2 garlic cloves, crushed
[ ] 2 tbsp chopped parsley
[ ] 1 tbsp chopped thyme
[ ] 1 lemon, zest and halves
[ ] 2 tsp flaked sea salt

Roast chicken with gravy from the tin (4 portions)
[ ] 1.6 kg roast chicken (as in recipe 1), resting
[ ] 1 tbsp fat from the roasting tin
[ ] 1 tbsp plain flour
[ ] 400 ml chicken stock, unsalted
[ ] 1 tsp Dijon mustard (optional)

For the experiments
[ ] A roasting tin and rack
[ ] Kitchen string
[ ] A carving knife and board