Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

[walton_eats]

I've tried several recipes for this dish. This is the absolute *best*. So simple, so savory, so *good*.



Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 - 3/4 cups dry white wine
10 sprigs fresh thyme
40 cloves garlic, peeled
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350F. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in wide fry pan or braiser over high heat. Add chicken and brown on both sides (do in two batches if necessary). Remove chicken and add garlic, tossing in hot oil. Add wine and deglaze pan. Turn off heat and add chicken back to pan, skin side up, in one layer. Tuck thyme between chicken pieces. Cover and bake for one hour. Remove cover, increase heat to 375F and bake an additional 30 minutes, until chicken is done and skin is crispy.

Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes. Serve with crusty bread to spread the wonderful soft garlic on, and with mashed potatoes or rice dressed with the pan juices.

Comments

[webzombi.livejournal.com]

OMG

I <3 ya bay-bee!

[lysana.livejournal.com]

*whimper*

[dafydd.livejournal.com]

Am I allowed to ask what "deglaze pan" means? :)

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

When meat or vegetable is browned in a pan with oil or butter (or even in a very hot, dry pan), it leaves browned bits behind, called "fond" (foundation, in French). It is a part of the Maillard reaction; the way heat affects food to brown or caramelize it. In any case, once the vegetables or meat are browned, broth or water or wine is added to the pan and the browned bits that are left behind are desolved into the liquid so that they can add to the flavor of the finished dish. This is called "deglazing".

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

Geez, let's try spelling correctly. *sigh*

*dissolved*

[blackfyr.livejournal.com]

*goes searching for a mop to clean up the drool flooding the apartment*

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

This is *easy*! You can make this. And you will not believe the wonderful fragrance which will permeate the apartment!

[fimbrethil.livejournal.com]

This looks wonderful. I'll make it straight from the recipe once but then I'm wondering how the addition of mushrooms and/or small red potatoes would turn out.

[helloreplace.livejournal.com]

I know what deglazing is (I'm not the OP or the person who asked) but I did want to say I really loved this comment and learned a lot from it. The whole maillard/fond thing is totally new info to me, so thanks so much for such a thoughtful answer!

[blackfyr.livejournal.com]

I intend to. We just didn't have the time/ingredients available right then.

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

I think it would turn out fine; neither of those ingredients would fight the flavors already in the dish, and mushrooms and thyme are a marriage made in culinary heaven as far as I'm concerned.

I love these kinds of very basic dishes which are delicious as they are but can stand up to some playing.

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! Food chemistry is so fascinating :).

[lillyflowers.livejournal.com]

My mom used to make that very recipe and it's FANTASTIC. Thanks for reminding me of it. Paul loves garlic, so I guess I'll make it for him this weekend!

As to work related things, I'd be happy to have a grueling schedule instead of no schedule.

Yay! for camera kit!!