Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Rub the chicken with the butter. Quarter the apples. Put 2 pieces in the cavity together with 2 sprigs of thyme, the onion and the garlic.
3. Season with salt and pepper pour the cider into a roasting tin then place the chicken in the middle of it. Put the apple pieces around it, then scatter the rest of the thyme leaves all over the dish.
4. Cover the tin with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
5. Take off the foil, baste the chicken with the cider sauce every 15 minutes, until the chicken is golden brown.
6. Test the legs with a skewer, if the juice coming out of it is clear, then the chicken is cooked through.
7. Rest the chicken and apple pieces on a plate (covered), the reduce the cooking juice into a thick sauce on the hob. ( You can add some corn flour/ starch to it if you like).
8. Carve the chicken and serve with the cooked apples, the cider gravy and side dishes of your choice.