Pick your way
Left whole, a bird of about 1.6kg makes a roast for four, with leftovers for sandwiches and the carcass for stock. Spatchcocked, with the backbone out and the bird opened flat, it cooks evenly in about 45 minutes, which is exactly what you want for peri peri. Skinned and cut into 8 or 12, it's ready for karahi, biryani or pulao.
Waste nothingKeep the backbone when we spatchcock it. Freeze it, and when you've got two or three, that's a pot of yakhni.
The roast
190°C, 20 minutes per 500g plus 25 minutes. Oil and salt on the skin, half a lemon and some garlic inside, breast side up. It's done when the juices run clear and there's no pink at the thickest part of the thigh, or 75°C on a thermometer. Give it 15 minutes' rest.
Curry on the bone
Bone-in pieces make a better curry: the bones flavour the sauce. Eight pieces for a karahi, twelve smaller ones for biryani and pulao, about 30 to 35 minutes in the pot. For an old-style, deeper flavour, try a hard chicken and give it 1½ to 2 hours.
Roasts, curries and soups
Whole chicken questions
What is a spatchcock chicken?
A whole chicken with the backbone cut out, opened flat. It cooks evenly in about 45 minutes, so it's ideal for roasting and the BBQ.
How long does a 1.6kg chicken take to roast?
About 1 hour 30 minutes at 190°C.
We'll cut it while you wait at 44 Kilmarnock Road, Shawlands, Glasgow G41 3NH. Opening hours.