Upside-down sage-stuffed chook with no-cook lemony gravy and upside-down iceberg salad

Servings:

This is my favourite way to roast a chook: dry, hot, upside-down! First you use the arctic dryness of your refrigerator to dry-age the chicken overnight on the bottom shelf (above the crisper) to help get the skin phenomenally crispy, then you roast breast side down, to protect the delicate meat from drying out and give you extra crispy skin on the legs (my favourite bits!).

Starting the oven raging hot means that you give that first blast of heat to encourage the golden colour and keep the skin from bubbling, then dropping the heat to keep it roasting until it’s roasted on top and tender throughout. For the cooking time, roast a bird of this size for around 1 hour 10 minutes. (A good rule of thumb is 40 minutes for the first kilogram, then 20 minutes for every extra kilo.)

For the lemony gravy, there’s no need to do anything but whisk the ingredients together in the pan – the mustard and lemon juice will emulsify with the schmaltzy chicken pan juices to create the ultimate tangy side.

The upside-down method also extends to my light and bright side here, perfect for a festive feast down under – an iceberg wedge salad, where the Christmassy cranberry & chive dressing’s underneath so it can stand for hours without getting wilty.