Heat oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add eschalots, garlic and mustard seeds, and cook for 5 minutes or until eschalots soften. Transfer to a bowl and cool.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180°C. Rinse chicken including the cavity with cold water, and pat dry with paper towel. Slide your fingers under the skin to gently loosen and create two pockets.
To make tarragon butter, place 70g butter, tarragon and eschalot mixture in a bowl and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
Using your fingers, spread the tarragon butter evenly under the chicken skin, then rub the remaining 30g butter over the chicken to coat well. Season.
Place the chicken on a wire rack set in a roasting pan and roast for 1½ hours or until the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a skewer.
Meanwhile, place potatoes in a saucepan of salted water. Bring to the boil, then cook for 10 minutes or until just tender. Drain, then return to the pan over low heat to allow any water to evaporate. Turn off the heat and shake the pan vigorously to roughen up the surface of the potatoes; this will make them extra crunchy when they are roasted.
After the chicken has been in the oven for 30 minutes, add duck fat to a separate roasting pan and heat on lower shelf of oven for 15 minutes. Carefully add potatoes, toss to coat in duck fat and season with salt. Roast on lower shelf for 1 hour or until golden.
Transfer roast chicken to a board and cover loosely with foil. Rest for 15 minutes. Carve chicken, then tear into pieces and place on a platter. Drizzle with pan juices and serve with potatoes and green salad.
Drink 2008 Petaluma Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay ($40) or 2009 William Fèvre Petit Chablis ($30).
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180°C. Rinse chicken including the cavity with cold water, and pat dry with paper towel. Slide your fingers under the skin to gently loosen and create two pockets.
To make tarragon butter, place 70g butter, tarragon and eschalot mixture in a bowl and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
Using your fingers, spread the tarragon butter evenly under the chicken skin, then rub the remaining 30g butter over the chicken to coat well. Season.
Place the chicken on a wire rack set in a roasting pan and roast for 1½ hours or until the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a skewer.
Meanwhile, place potatoes in a saucepan of salted water. Bring to the boil, then cook for 10 minutes or until just tender. Drain, then return to the pan over low heat to allow any water to evaporate. Turn off the heat and shake the pan vigorously to roughen up the surface of the potatoes; this will make them extra crunchy when they are roasted.
After the chicken has been in the oven for 30 minutes, add duck fat to a separate roasting pan and heat on lower shelf of oven for 15 minutes. Carefully add potatoes, toss to coat in duck fat and season with salt. Roast on lower shelf for 1 hour or until golden.
Transfer roast chicken to a board and cover loosely with foil. Rest for 15 minutes. Carve chicken, then tear into pieces and place on a platter. Drizzle with pan juices and serve with potatoes and green salad.
Drink 2008 Petaluma Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay ($40) or 2009 William Fèvre Petit Chablis ($30).