Famous lemon, herb and garlic chicken

Some recipes earn the word famous around a family table, and this is one of them. A whole chicken, a fistful of garden herbs, lemon, garlic, and the No. 8 Flat Bottom Pot turned into an oven with the Dutch Plate.

The herb paste

Chop as much as you deem appropriate of your favourite herbs. Any mixture of rosemary, basil, thyme and oregano will do. About a handful.

Add fresh chopped garlic to taste (four cloves here), the juice of one to two lemons, and the rind of one. Season in the mortar with coarse sea salt and white pepper, then grind it to a roughish paste.

Under the skin

Loosen the skin from the chicken's flesh and stuff the herb mixture underneath, into all the portions. A teaspoon does the work.

Place the Dutch Plate in the No. 8 Flat Bottom Pot, set the chicken on the plate, and pack the potatoes around it. The potatoes go in raw and whole: scrape them with a fork, give them a light coating of oil, and sprinkle over coarse sea salt.

On the heat

Lid on, and let it go for about 70 to 90 minutes. You are allowed to check.

“In hindsight, I will add more heat in the form of briquettes to the lid of the pot for a better roast.”

That is the one adjustment for next time. Coals on the lid as well as underneath are what turn a good pot roast into a proper one, browning the skin while the Dutch Plate keeps the base from catching.

The chicken comes out tender with the herbs, lemon and garlic carried right through the meat, and the potatoes roast in the same heat. Serve it with whatever the garden gives you. Here it went out with roast vegetables and potatoes under a spoon of sour cream.

The Dutch Plate is what makes this work. One solid piece of Hand-Cast aluminium that lifts the food off the base so the hot air does the roasting, no liquid needed, no oven in sight.

Cooked something worth telling on your Pottie? Email us your story and photos with the subject “My Potties Story” and we may share it here.