Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

If you have never heard of it before, you probably read the title of this post and thought, "are you kidding me? She's crazy." But I swear - Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic is a thing! There are versions of this recipe from a bunch of chefs, and I know why because it's SO. FREAKING. GOOD.

I'm actually a little bit embarrassed to admit this - but this chicken was so good we literally didn't even sit down to eat it. We stood at the kitchen counter leaning over the platter and just devoured it, sauce dripping down our hands. Who needs a table, right? Or plates...or silverware... 

The dish is classically called "Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic" but you don't really have to be that meticulous about it - whatever comes out of 3 medium heads of garlic will work perfectly (I think we ended up with about 55 actually). We LOVE garlic so we were so excited to try this recipe, but I definitely understand that some people may be a little skeptical about THAT much garlic. But fear not! The garlic is roasted so it takes on a soft, creamy and sweet flavor and texture - not like biting into a raw garlic clove. Don't get me wrong, it's super garlicky, but in a wonderful, wonderful way. That sauce - oh my. The chicken? So juicy. The garlic cloves? Soft as BUTTAH. You will definitely want some crusty bread to sop up that sauce and spread the garlic cloves onto.

Let's get those ingredients!

If you have a whole chicken, remove the giblets, trim off excess fat, and cut the chicken into pieces.

Check out this handy step-by-step tutorial on how to cut up a chicken! You should end up with 10 pieces, but we're only going to use 8 (save the wings for another time!).

Full disclosure: Next time I'm just going to buy a chicken that is already cut up. I did not enjoy this task. Blech.

Brining the chicken helps it stay super moist and juicy - so don't skip this next step! In a large bowl, dissolve ¼ cup of salt in 2 quarts of water and immerse the chicken pieces in the brine. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small baking dish toss the garlic and shallots with 2 teaspoon of the olive oil and salt & pepper. I know it seems weird to put them in the oven with the skins on, but they roast up so beautifully and when it's all said & done the skins just fall off the garlic cloves anyway.

Cover tightly with foil and roast until softened and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes. Uncover, stir and continue to roast uncovered for another 10 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the brine, rinse & thoroughly pat dry, and season with salt & pepper. Heat olive oil in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet and brown the chicken pieces.

Transfer the chicken to a plate and add the vermouth, chicken broth, and herbs to the skillet, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.

Add the garlic-shallot mixture and return the chicken to the pan, nestling the chicken pieces on top of and in between the garlic cloves.

Put the skillet in the oven and roast until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 160 degrees. I love the thermometers that you can leave in the meat while it's in the oven, it's so much easier than checking it a bunch of times!

Remove the skillet from the oven and transfer the chicken pieces to a serving dish. Using a slotted spoon, remove & reserve 10 garlic cloves, and scatter the rest of the garlic cloves and shallots among the chicken.

Peel the reserved garlic cloves and use a rubber spatula to push them through a fine mesh sieve into the skillet.

Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium-high heat, add the butter and whisk to incorporate.

Drizzle some of the sauce over the chicken, and serve the rest alongside for dipping.

Stand back and revel in the beauty that is Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic.

I'm gonna be straight with you - as you can probably tell this was a pretty involved process but WOW was it worth it. Allow me to remind you - we literally did not even sit down to eat, just dug right in after we snapped that final photo.

Yummy noises await you!

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Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

Pan roasted and braised chicken with roasted garlic, shallots and herbs.

Serves 3-4

Author YummyNoises.com

Ingredients

• 1 chicken (about 4 lbs), whole or pre-cut
• ¼ cup fine salt
• 3 medium heads of garlic , outer papery skin removed, cloves separated but not peeled
• 2 medium shallots , peeled & quartered
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt & Pepper
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• ¾ cup dry vermouth or white wine
• ¾ cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoon butter
• Crusty bread , for serving (optional but HIGHLY recommended!)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. If you have a whole chicken, remove the giblets, trim off excess fat, and cut the chicken into 8 pieces (4 breast pieces, 2 thighs, and 2 drumsticks, reserve the wings for another use). In a large bowl, dissolve the salt in 2 quarts of water and immerse the chicken pieces in the brine. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small baking dish toss the garlic and shallots with 2 teaspoon of the olive oil and salt & pepper. Cover tightly with foil and roast until softened and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes, shaking the baking dish once about halfway through to toss the contents. Uncover, stir and continue to roast uncovered for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and increase the temperature to 450 degrees.
• Remove the chicken from the brine, rinse and thoroughly pat dry. Season both sides of the chicken pieces with salt & pepper. Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken pieces, skin-side down until golden, about 5 minutes. Use tongs to flip the chicken pieces and brown the other side, about 4 more minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and discard the fat. Off the heat, add the vermouth, chicken broth, and herbs to the skillet, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan, and return pan to the heat. Add the garlic-shallot mixture and return the chicken to the pan, nestling the chicken pieces on top of and in between the garlic cloves.
• Put the skillet in the oven and roast until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 160 degrees, about 12 minutes. Remove the skillet from the oven and transfer the chicken pieces to a serving dish. Using a slotted spoon, remove & reserve 10 garlic cloves, and scatter the rest of the garlic cloves and shallots among the chicken. Discard the bay leaf and herb stems. Peel the reserved garlic cloves and use a rubber spatula to push them through a fine mesh sieve into the skillet. Bring the liquid to a simmer over medium-high heat, add the butter and whisk to incorporate. Taste and add more salt & pepper if desired. Pour the sauce into a sauceboat and serve with the chicken.

Notes

Adapted from America's Test Kitchen