Well here's what I do with a typical 2kg free-range bird. In the UK we seldom get giblets any more, but if yours has giblets remove them and boil them for half an hour with an onion, stick of celery, carrot and a bay leaf in a pint of water. This will make lovely stock for making your gravy later. Personally, I prefer to exclude the liver for this purpose.

Don't wash the chicken unless you're a fan of food poisoning. Blot it with some kitchen towel. Put it into a good roasting tray that has a bit of room round the chicken. I have some Mermaid anodised aluminium ones that are superb. Just about melt a goodly knob of butter in a small pan. Pour this butter over the chicken, rubbing it in with your hands. Into the cavity insert another knob of butter, a whole small onion and half a lemon. Season the whole chicken really well with salt and black pepper. If you happen to have a bit of French tarragon, stuff some into the bird and sprinkle a bit on top, but this is optional. Cover the chicken with tinfoil but don't wrap it in it. Just a top covering.

I know that Raggtytash will vehemently disagree, but you really don't need to stuff butter under the breast skin. I've tried it both ways and it doesn't make any difference. In addition, there's no need to muck about changing oven temperatures or turning the chicken over.

Set the oven to 190 fan and after five minutes put in your covered chicken. Leave it alone for 90 minutes and go for a pre-prandial walk.

After 90 minutes remove the foil. This is a good time to drain off some fat for making the roast spuds.

Return the beast to the oven for about another 25 minutes. Remove it, put it into a clean tin and leave it for half an hour to rest as you get the rest of the grub ready. The chicken tin will have lovely crusty bits for making gravy that you made the giblet stock for earlier. If I haven't got giblets I'll either use some stock I had in the freezer or I'll make a separate panful by boiling the trimmings of the onions, carrots and celery from earlier. I will not use commercial stock cubes as I don't like my gravy to taste of chemical warfare.

Eat the skin before the missus catches you. The cook's treat is the parson's nose, which by a long chalk is the tastiest morsel of food on this planet.

I have a slightly smaller bird in my freezer, Acme. I'm going to try that spatchcock thing you mentioned on my barbie this summer.