Free range and fab

The frenzy about avian flu continues to gain momentum. Hours of airtime and yards of column inches are dedicated to spec...ulation about the possibility of a pandemic. But do they know something I don't know? Otherwise why are they whipping the public into a frenzy of poultry paranoia? After all, what can we do about it?  
I would never eat an “orphan” chicken with no fixed abode. After all, chicken (and other meat) produced outside the EU can legally change its nationality once it arrives in a registered EU plant – it can become an Italian, French, Spanish, British or Irish chicken. It goes into processed food and is sold unlabelled all over the country.
But rather than choosing an albeit expensive free range bird, a growing number of consumers deciding not to eat chicken at all – how daft is that? Despite the assurances of the Department of Health, Irish chicken producers are suffering a disastrous drop in sales as a result of the scare. Ironically, the demand for free range organic chicken has soared – could it be that at last a growing number of people are realising that if we want healthy food, it must be naturally produced in the time honoured way? You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear – seek out a fresh, free range, organic bird and have a gorgeous roast with a buttery fresh herb stuffing this weekend.

TRADITIONAL ROAST STUFFED CHICKEN     
Serves 4-6

Chicken: 1 x 31⁄2 - 5 lbs (1.5 - 2.3kg) free range chicken, preferably organic Stuffing: 11⁄2 ozs (45g/3 tbsp) butter; 3 ozs (85g) chopped onion; 3-3 1/2 ozs (85-100g) soft white breadcrumbs; 2 tablesp. (2 American tbsp + 2 teasp) finely chopped fresh herbs eg parsley, lemon thyme, chives and annual marjoram; salt and freshly ground pepper; a little soft butter; 1 pint of chicken stock (for gravy – can be made from giblets). Garnish: Sprigs of flat parsley

Stuffing: sweat the onions gently in the butter until soft, then stir in the crumbs, herbs, a little salt and pepper to taste. Allow it to get quite cold. If necessary wash and dry the cavity of the bird, then season and half fill with cold stuffing. Chicken: Season the breast and legs, smear with a little soft butter. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/regulo 4. Weigh the chicken and allow about 20 minutes to the lb and 20 minutes over. Baste a couple of times during the cooking with the buttery juices. The chicken is done when the juices are running clear.  Remove the chicken to a carving dish. Gravy: spoon off the surplus fat from the roasting pan. Deglaze the pan juices with the fat free stock from the giblets and bones (you will need about 1 pint depending on the size of the chicken). Using a whisk, stir and scrape well to dissolve the caramelised meat juices from the roasting pan. Boil it up well, season and thicken with a little roux.