Air Fryer Whole Roast Chicken & Gravy

Step 1

Start by zesting the lemon and squeezing the juice out then popping what’s left of the lemon in the cavity of the chicken.

Step 2

Add a few thin slices of butter between the skin and the breast of the chicken. Give it a good rub now, go on!!

Step 3

Place the chicken breast side down in the air fryer basket.

Step 4

Pour a bit of the oil into a ramekin. Dip the silicone brush in the oil and spread it all over the visible parts of the chicken.

Step 5

Sprinkle a bit of the lemon zest, only a pinch.

Step 6

Sprinkle or rub in some salt and pepper.

Step 7

Into the air fryer it goes for:

Step 8

25 minutes at 171ºC, from cold (340F if you're in the States).

Step 9

The Vortex air fryer has an initial built-in preheating phase that adds a few minutes to the cooking time as the countdown does not start straight away so, if using an air fryer that starts counting down immediately, make sure you add 2-3 minutes to the time.

Step 10

In the meantime, mix the lemon juice with the honey. Tip: if your honey is not quite runny and it has crystallised, place the mix into the microwave for about 10 seconds and stir.

Step 11

With 15 minutes to go, add a bit of the glaze to the chicken. Then again with 5 minutes to go.

Step 12

Once the timer ends, very carefully turn the chicken over so it’s breast-side up.

Step 13

Brush some more of the glaze and sprinkle some more of the lemon zest all over the visible parts and programme:

Step 14

20 minutes at 180ºC (356F if you're in the States).

Step 15

Open it up a couple of times to brush over the rest of the glaze and add the rest of the lemon zest. Say with 12 minutes to go and with 6 minutes to go.

Step 16

At the end, don’t worry if you’re juggling other things, it can rest in there for a few minutes. Check it has cooked through with a meat thermometer, it's worth investing in one, see the blurb for my recommendations. Not quite cooked yet? Add time at 180ºC but only 3-5 minutes at a time and check as it cooks fast.

Step 17

Remove the chicken and let it rest, no need to cover it but you can cover it with foil if you want.

Step 18

Carefully remove the grill and leave the juices in the drawer to make gravy.

Step 19

Add ketchup or passata and some stock (I used gammon stock). Stir well with a silicone spatula and cook for 5 minutes or so at 130ºC / 266 F while you get everything organised.