Spanish Roasted Chicken

Description:
I had decided to roast a chicken for our Christmas day menu. Lee isn’t a fan of roast chicken so it’s one of those things that isn’t cooked in this house, but I have been craving roast chicken for months lol.
Then I saw this recipe on a tv programme a couple of weeks before Christmas & decided I would try this instead.


Ingredients:
1 chicken Maryland piece per person
1 large brown onion
1 bulb of garlic
1 or 2 chorizo sausages (depending on n° of chicken pieces)
2-3 sprigs of rosemary
Olive oil for drizzling
Salt & pepper to taste
80ml sherry vinegar {if you want to make the gravy}


Directions:
Watch the video on how to throw this simple recipe together :-

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/ver/251.6/popup/index.php?cl=5523266

{copy & paste the link into your browser}

The Verdict;
This dish certainly passed the taste test but I must say I was very disappointed in the presentation. My chicken didn’t brown up at all when I followed the instructions!
It’s been awhile since I’ve cooked chicken with the skin on so I’ve been trying to recall how I used to get a nice crisp brown skin. For starters I think the oven temperature @ 200°c {390°F} is too low.
When I used to roast chicken a lot I would rub the outside of the skin with a little unsalted butter & then season with salt & pepper.
A blasting heat crisps the skin and gives the chicken a great roast flavour, so I would for an initial 15 to 20 minutes cook at 230°c {450°F}, followed by a more moderate 190°c {375°F} for the remaining cooking time. High heat throughout cooking works, but the fat splatters a lot, making a needless mess. If the heat is too low, however, the skin never really develops that lovely crispy brown colour.
Test the chicken is thoroughly cooked, with a skewer {the juices should be clear not rosy}. I found as my chicken Maryland pieces were huge, even after the backbone was removed, I needed to add a further 15 minutes to the cooking time.