CHICKEN BAKED in a SALT CRUST

Chicken baked in a salt crust. My most time consuming endeavour in the kitchen yet, I do believe. Thank you to the Gourmet Farmer Matthew Evans for this beautiful, rustic recipe. I had never even had the guts to roast a whole anything before this dish. A word of warning - whilst the dough/pastry will look incredibly appetising after it has been cooked - do not eat it! The almost 2 cups of salt makes it completely inedible- and believe me, myself and my partner Chris know as we both tried it and both spit it out very daintily. You may be wondering then why a salt crust is included in the recipe but not allowed to be eaten? Preparing a salty crust is a simple, easy way to cook a tender and succulent chicken in an oven, says Evans. Whilst this recipe takes up to 3 hours, if you have the time or want to make a meal to impress, this is well worth it. I can’t recall ever experiencing such flavorsome and tasty chicken.

INGREDIENTS

• 600g (4 cups) gluten-free plain flour, plus extra to create a floured surface
• 400g (around 1 2/3 cup) table salt
• 4 egg whites, preferably free-range
• 1.2 - 1.4 kg chicken, preferably free-range
• 1 tablespoon dairy-free spread, such as Nuttelex, at room temperature 
• 1/2 a lemon 
• 2 tablespoons fresh sage, finely chopped
• kitchen string

PREPARATION 

1. Mix flour and salt in a large bowl and stir in egg whites. Slowly add 250ml (1 cup) of water to the mixture, forming a stiff dough as you go. (If you need to add more water that is fine, just use sparingly). Cover dough with plastic wrap and set aside to rest for 30 minutes. 

2. Whilst chicken is resting, use your fingers to rub the nuttelex and sage around the chicken and inside the chicken cavity. Squeeze the lemon over the chicken and place the lemon half inside the cavity. 

3. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 200 degrees celsius. Use kitchen string to tie the chicken legs together and twist the wings so that they lie underneath the chicken. 

4. Make the pastry by rolling the dough out on a floured surface. Try to make the dough as close to 1cm thick and 38cm wide by 50cm long. Place the chicken in the middle of the pastry, breast-side up and carefully fold the dough over the chicken; first fold the pastry lengthways so that the chicken is covered and then fold widthways so that the pastry overlaps. Seal the edges of the dough by pressing together firmly. 

COOKING 

1. Gently lift the chicken and place it in a lightly greased deep heatproof baking dish (I used a deep casserole dish). Place the dish on a low shelf of the oven for 90-120 minutes, checking now and again to make sure that the crust of the pastry is golden brown and cooked through. Once pastry is cooked, remove from the oven and leave to rest for 20 minutes. There is no need to season the chicken, as it will have absorbed some of the salt from the crust. Serve warm, with steamed or grilled vegetables. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / 45 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 110-130 minutes (1 hour 50 minutes - 2 hours 10 minutes)

x Emily