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1
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
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2
Put all the salt into a bowl with the fennel seeds, eggs, lemon juice (keep the skins), peppercorns, and a wine glass of water, and mix together.
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3
Bash up the thyme in a pestle and mortar and add a couple of good lugs of olive oil.
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4
Scrunch it up and rub this flavored oil all over your chicken, finally pushing any excess inside the cavity along with your parsley, garlic, and squeezed lemon halves.
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5
The idea here is to tightly pack the cavity so it bulges and no salt can get inches
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6
Get 4 long pieces of aluminum foil and put them on top of each other to make a large square sheet.
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7
Lay on 1/3 of the salt, making it around 3/4-inch (2 centimeters) thick.
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8
Put your chicken on top, then pack the rest of the salt around it.
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9
Because the salt is slightly wet it should stick to the chicken; make sure that the chicken's skin hasn't been pierced.
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10
Carefully fold up the sides of the foil and scrunch it at the top.
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11
You can rip off excess foil; basically, the foil is there to hold the salt together until it hardens.
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12
Place the chicken in the preheated oven and cook for 2 hours, then remove from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
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13
Take it to the table with 1 or 2 really nice salads, some bread, and a bottle of white.
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14
Rip open the foil and crack the salt crust.
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15
It will fall apart easily and reveal the fantastic-smelling chicken.
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16
Pull the skin away and tear the meat from the thighs and the breast - absolutely pukka.
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17
This is gorgeous served with horseradish mixed with creme fraiche or with some homemade basil mayonnaise.
