Hot honey chicken
Now this is our kind of roast chicken. Punchy butter and hot honey take it to another level.
Ingredients
For chicken and dry brine
- 1 whole chicken, backbone removed and flattened, spatchcocked
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 2 tbsp sea salt flakes
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 large garlic cloves, grated
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
For the compound butter
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 250g/9oz unsalted butter
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the hot honey
- 5 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
Method
Combine the dry brine ingredients in a bowl. Rub the dry brine all over the chicken, including in between the skin and flesh and the under belly. Transfer to the fridge and leave, uncovered, overnight.
The next day, when you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
Combine the compound butter ingredients in a bowl and mix until soft. Season with salt and pepper, then set aside.
For the hot honey, place everything in a small saucepan and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Remove from the heat.
Remove the chicken from the fridge and let it come to room temperature. Rub the compound butter between the skin and the flesh.
Transfer to a roasting tin and roast in the oven for 40 minutes–1 hour, depending on the size of the chicken. Slather the chicken in the hot honey every 15 minutes while it roasts. The chicken is cooked through when the juices run clear with no trace of pink when the thickest part of the leg, between the drumstick and the thigh, is pierced with a skewer.
Serve the chicken with the sides of your choice.
