Chicken with 50 Cloves of Garlic
Serves 2-4, depending on your hunger level
50 cloves of garlic (3-4 whole heads), unpeeled
3 medium shallots, peeled and quartered
2 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1 c. dry white wine
1/2 c. chicken stock
1 large bay leaf
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 large stem fresh rosemary
4 tbsp. butter
s+p
Pre-heat your oven to 400.
Put the unpeeled garlic cloves and shallots in a pie pan or baking dish; drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, sprinkle with salt and toss to coat everything evenly. Cover the dish with foil and roast the garlic for 45 minutes, tossing them every 15 minutes (you don’t have to remove the foil, just shake the pan around) and uncovering the pan for the last 15. Remove the pan from the oven and set aside.
Crank the oven to 450.
When the garlic is almost done, pat the chicken dry and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Heat the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil in a large, ovenproof skillet until it’s smoking and put the chicken in skin-side down. Sear it for 5-6 minutes until you get a nice brown crust, and flip it and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Remove it from the pan.
Pour the wine and stock into the hot pan and scrape up all the good chickeny bits stuck to the bottom. Add the herbs, all the garlic and shallot, and sit the chicken down into the mix. Throw the pan into the oven until the chicken is done, at about 170 degrees.
Take the pan out of the oven and remove the chicken to a serving dish. Pick out herbs. Using a slotted spoon, pull out 16-18 cloves and put them in a mesh strainer; scatter the rest around the chicken. Leave all the liquid in the pan, and stash the chicken in a warming draw or low oven to keep warm.
Push the garlic through the strainer to get a smooth paste. Whisk the garlic paste into the wine and stock along with 2 tablespoons of the butter. Cook the liquid down by about a third, until it coats the back of a spoon. Off the heat, whisk in the other 2 tablespoons of butter to thicken and gloss-ify the sauce. Serve immediately, with some good bread for sopping up the sauce and smearing with the remaining garlic cloves.
cant wait to try this recipe. thanks anon
Sounds megas delish.
I just made this dish, and I have to say, it's reaaaaallllly good. the sauce for the chicken is absolutely delicious and the chicken just absorbs all the garlic. the only problem i have with this dish is that leaving the skin on the garlic makes it tough to eat and the shallots just feel like a waste of time and in the end, no one ate them. overall i'd recommend this dish to anyone.
will try. thank you, anon.
is it to strong??