The Art of the Sunday Roast

Carl and his roommate at the time (now proud houseboat owner and frequent dinner guest) were the first to introduce me to the wonders of the traditional British Sunday roast. Together, they would roast a chicken (or two if necessary) almost every Sunday for dinner and immediately tried to bring me in on the routine. For a couple months I would sit in awe on a stool in the corner of the kitchen while either one or both of them seemed to effortlessly produce a perfectly timed roast. Sometimes I would try to help with peeling the potatoes or reminding them that we needed some veg (usually carrots or peas).

Every Sunday they would attempt to convince me that now was the time for me to do the roast on my own. I stubbornly refused until finally Carl explained that the timing was not as difficult as it seemed. With Carl occupying my usual position on the kitchen stool, I managed to complete my very first Sunday roast! A few weeks later Carl bought a roasting tin for me on the condition that I would use it every Sunday I was in my flat - just like he had agreed to do with the tin he had inherited from his former roommate (it didn't fit in his houseboat's aga).

my first solo roast

Since then, roast chicken has become a solid standard in my cooking repertoire and I do it every week or so (even if it isn't a Sunday) because the leftover chicken is great for putting in sandwiches, salads, wraps, and pasta for lunches during the week. However, I have made my own little American mark on this great British institution by convincing Carl and his current roommate that corn on the cob is the veg of choice to accompany such a meal!

modified roast after a bit of practice

The key to the perfect Sunday roast is timing (and a bit of goose fat). Nothing compares to the exhilaration of having everything ready to place on the table at the same time regardless of sides. I love having corn, stuffing, and gravy with my roasts but all you really need is chicken and potatoes:

Roast Chicken and Potatoes (a la Carl)

Ingredients

1 whole chicken

potatoes (see additional notes)

salt

pepper (coarse ground)

oil (I like to use olive or sunflower)

goose fat

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C
2. Place the whole chicken on one side of the roasting tin and pour oil on the chicken and the other side of the tin. Both the chicken and the tin should be coated but not drenched in oil. I usually pour about 2 tablespoons of oil into the palm of my hand and rub it into the chicken then add a bit more to the tin and spread it around with my hand.
3. Sprinkle salt and crushed black pepper on the skin of the chicken. A few pinches of each should do. Be sure to get some on the legs as well so the skin will be crispy all over.
4. Put the chicken in the oven for 45 minutes.
5. While the chicken is roasting, peel and chop the potatoes into 3 or 4 even sized pieces.
6. After the chicken has been in the oven for 45 minutes, remove the tin from the oven and place one or two heaping tablespoons of goose fat on the empty side of the tin. Use the spoon to help melt the fat more quickly. Once the fat has melted, add the potatoes. Be sure to spoon the oil/fat over the potatoes so that they are coated on all sides.
7. Put the tin back in the oven for another hour. Turn the potatoes every 15-20 minutes and spoon over more oil/fat so they are cooked evenly.

Additional notes

We tend to use Maris Piper but Russet potatoes should work just as nicely in the US. The only thing that can ruin this roast is running out of potatoes so I always end up preparing more than I need. I find two potatoes per person is a good starting point and add or remove some depending on how hungry everyone is feeling (or if I know one of my friends tends to eat a lot). The good news is that you can re-roast the leftovers the following day for a quick bite! You can also make the potatoes extra crunchy by boiling them (after they have been peeled and chopped) for about ten minutes and then roughening up their surfaces by shaking them in the pan with the lid on.


Roasts have become such an integral part of my Sundays that I even prepared a roast when I flew back to LA to visit my family! I invited one of my friends who spent a year studying in England as well and she was absolutely thrilled to be having chicken and roasties (potatoes) again. Just like I crave Mexican food whenever I fly into LA, a roast is my meal of choice (second only perhaps to bangers and mash - but that deserves a post of its own) whenever I come back home to England.

my modified roast with a glass of Pimm's made LA feel like London for an evening

Until next time, happy roasting! x