Bob Hart's Perfect Roast Chicken

If you never master another dish in your life, master this one. There is no doubt in my mind that the perfectly roasted chook is the world’s most pleasing and satisfying dish – served with a jus from the roasting pan, some perfect mash, and a simple green salad. Or simply pulled or hacked apart and eaten in your fingers. You choose:

You can only achieve perfection if you start with the perfect bird: buy a sturdy (1.8kg), free range bird from a reliable butcher or specialist shop – very few supermarkets offer really top-flight chooks. Do not expect change from $20. Sorry. Now, set your oven to 190C.

Wipe the chook inside and out and then rub it all over with half a lemon. Pop the squeezed lemon into the roasting cavity with a rough bouquet made with parsley sprigs, a spring of thyme and a sprig of rosemary. Flatten a couple of unpeeled garlic cloves and toss them in as well. Season inside and out with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. No substitutes, please.

Place the chook, breast up, in a roasting dish and liberally smear with soft butter – no, not margarine and not olive oil. BUTTER! I use an ancient roasting tin with a rack, and pour water into the tin under the chicken to preserve the juices. This works well.

Roast in this position, in the centre of your oven, for 20 mins. Remove from oven, turn bird into its side, return for 20 mins. Remove from oven, turn onto other side, return for 20 mins. Remove from oven, turn breast up, roast for 20 min – at which point your bird should be cooked to perfection. Always check, as oven temperatures can vary. Juices should run clear.

Remove chook from dish, place on carving board, loosely tent with foil and rest while you prepare the jus. Splash some white wine and some chicken stock into the pan, scrape any residue into the liquid and heat, stirring, on top of the stove. Some people like to thicken this jus with flour – I don’t. Please yourself.

Carve the chicken as you like – I prefer it jointed rather than prissily carved, but it depends on the occasion. Eat. Be amazed.