Jamie Oliver reveals the common mistake we all make with roast chicken

roast chicken
(Image credit: Getty)

If you're partial to a Sunday roast, you may think you have your roast chicken preparation nailed.

National cooking icon Jamie Oliver says otherwise.

The Essex born chef, known for his enthusiasm for wholesome food and his role as a doting family man to his five kids, has revealed the big mistake he reckons most of us make when we're prepping our humble bird ready for Sunday lunch complete with all the trimmings like crispy roast potatoes and hot, salty gravy.

Taking to YouTube to bless food fans with a super easy roast chicken tutorial, Jamie explained that a seriously small detail can make all the difference when it comes to enhancing the meat's flavour.

Many experienced chicken roasters will be familiar with the simple trick of popping a lemon into the cavity of the bird in order to add a zesty punch.

But Jamie has admitted that it's surprisingly easy to do this the wrong way.

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How do you make the perfect Jamie Oliver roast chicken?

The award winning foodie told his YouTube viewers that using a lemon fresh from the fridge won't do the chicken any favours.

He recommends using a hot lemon instead, in order to optimise the fruit's citrus zing.

"If you put a cold lemon in there, the hot air’s not going to get in there and it’s not going to be cooking as evenly as I’d like it," he said.

Suggesting home chefs pop a lemon in the microwave for 40 seconds before popping it into the chicken, he added, "So we’ve got a hot lemon that’s I’m going to stab. This is basically a boiling hot, citrus bomb."

We like the sound of that!

Demonstrating his renowned trick for achieving the crispiest, most flavour filled chicken skin, Jamie combined herbs like marjoram, parsley and basil with salt, pepper and olive oil.

The super handy online footage then shows him rubbing the herbs and a tablespoon of butter between the chicken's skin and breasts, before explaining, "Thats going to make your chicken breast juicer than ever and it's going to make the skin crispier than ever."

We're dooling! Bring on Sunday...

Caitlin Elliott
Junior News Editor

Caitlin is a Junior News Editor for Goodto.com, covering all things royal, celeb, lifestyle, food, and family. Having set her sights on becoming a magazine journalist when she was a child, Caitlin took on work experience stints at local papers and titles such as Cosmopolitan, Now, Reveal and Take a Break while studying for her Multimedia Journalism degree and has interviews with celebs, reality stars and the Archbishop of Canterbury under her belt (of course, she couldn't resist asking him about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry).