Chicken Crown, Free Range & Herb-fed

Roasting a whole bird and achieving a perfectly cooked breast and leg is a formidable challenge. A crown both reduces cooking time and ensures succulent meat, stuffed simply with lemon and thyme or a yoghurt-based tandoori marinade, we have found herb-fed chicken excellent for all preparations.

We’ve been working with North Yorkshire poultry farmer Edward Wilkinson for many years. His birds are entirely free range and slowly grown in small flocks, allowing them to exhibit all their natural instincts outside; foraging, pecking the grass, soaking up the sunshine, or rain, as they choose. Their diet includes over ten herbs, enhancing the depth of flavour - they are a bestseller to our restaurant community!

100% free range, herb-fed chicken

Firstly, ensure the chicken crown is at room temperature as this will help it to cook evenly. Rub a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over the chicken crown, then season with a good pinch of coarse sea salt and a good grinding of black pepper. You may want to put a bunch of thyme or rosemary inside the cavity of the bird, perhaps with a lemon halved. Alternatively, you could flavour some soft butter with thyme leaves, lemon zest, salt & pepper and massage the butter between the skin and flesh of the bird.

Place in an oven at 220°C (200°C if using a fan oven) for 15 minutes. At this stage bast the bird well, spooning the juices over the breasts. Reduce the temperature to 190°C (170°C fan) and roast for a further 30 minutes, basting a couple more times during this period. Insert a skewer into the thickest part of the breast, if the juices run clear the crown can be removed from the oven, if not place back in the oven and test every 5 minutes until cooked.

Following cooking, a rest of 15-20 minutes is advisable before carving.