Serving size: Serves 4
Cooking time: More than 1 hour
Course: Main

Salt crust cookery is an ancient technique which seems to have it's origins in Chinese cookery where poultry was packed in pure salt and baked. The method we are using here is common in France and utilizes a flour and salt dough to create a shell to preserve the moisture and texture while intensifying the flavour.This method of cookery also lends itself to various game, fish and certain cuts of beef.

INGREDIENTS

The salt crust:
1kg butchers salt
1kg plain flour
670ml cold water

The Chicken:
1 x no.14 free range or organic chicken
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
50g softened butter
½ bunch French tarragon, roughly chopped
cracked black pepper

Beurre Noisette: (nut brown butter)
50g butter
¼ cup chopped parsley
juice of half a lemon

The Bread Sauce:
1 small onion studded with three cloves
500mls milk
110gm fresh bread crumbs
nutmeg
salt
50gm freshly ground pepper
50gm butter

METHOD

Pre-heat oven to 220°C.

The salt crust:
Knead the above ingredients together to form a smooth dough and allow to rest for ½ hour.

The Chicken:
Combine butter, garlic and half the tarragon. Season with pepper.
Remove excess fat from the opening of the chicken and remove neck if still attached
Using index finger, force a pocket between the flesh and skin of the breast of the chicken. Stuff with the tarragon butter mixture.

Line a baking tray with a piece of grease proof paper, roll the salt crust to a 5mm thickness, big enough to encase the whole chicken, leaving no holes, place onto baking tray.
Place chicken into pre-heated oven for 47minutes, after this time remove from oven and allow resting for a good half-hour before cracking open the crust.

To portion, remove breast meat from bone by running a knife down the centre of the breast then using your knife to lever and slice the breast meat away from the breast plate. Slice each breast in two.
Remove the legs using hands, by pulling thigh away from the carcass. Separate the thigh from the drumstick.

Beurre Noisette: (nut brown butter)
Melt the butter in a small fry pan allowing it to gently reach a bubbly stage after which it should foam. The butter will start to take on colour once the foam subsides. At this point throw in the chopped parsley, squeeze in the juice of a lemon then season.

Serve the chicken, lying down a bed of bread sauce on top of which you can place a portion of chicken then nap with the Beurre noisette. Serve.

The Bread Sauce:
Put the onion and milk into a basin and bring it to just below boiling point, this can be done over a pan of simmering water. The point is to extract as much flavour from the onion and clove, so the longer it takes the milk to boil, the more intense the flavour will be.

Remove the onion and whisk in the breadcrumbs until the sauce is thick, with all the milk taken up. Keep the basin over the simmering water until the sauce is heated through. Season with a pinch of nutmeg, salt and pepper. Finally stir in the butter.
Keep warm ready to serve.

NOTE: If sauce seems on the thin side (bread sauce should not spread very much when put on a plate) add more crumbs, if it seems so firm that a spoon will stand up in it, add a little more milk.