Roasted Chicken with 4O Cloves of Garlic

Name: Roasted Chicken with 4O Cloves of Garlic
Cook time: P1H
Total time: P1H30M
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Fusion
Ingredients: chicken; salt and black pepper; butter, unsalted; garlic; white wine; chicken broth; butter; herbs

Submitted by bbrysonm

Roast chicken with 40 cloves of garlic in a French-style white wine pan sauce. Garlic mellows to a sweet, spreadable paste. Pureed back into the sauce for unbelievable depth.

YIELD

4 servings

PREP

30 min

COOK

1 hrs

READY

90 min

Roasted chicken with 40 cloves of garlic is the famous Provencal dish that turns a head of garlic into something nobody saw coming. The cloves get blanched briefly to take the raw edge off, then roast around the chicken until they collapse into sweet, mellow, almost jammy pillows that bear no resemblance to anything sharp.

A third of the cloves get plated as garnish; the rest go into the blender with reduced white wine and chicken stock pan sauce, then the whole thing gets puree-smooth and finished with cold butter for a velvety, garlic-perfumed sauce.

Chef Tips

The 15-second blanch is a must. Raw garlic added straight to the roast tastes harsh; blanching tames the bite without losing flavor.
Pat the chicken dry before buttering and seasoning. Wet skin steams instead of crisping under the high heat.
The two-temperature roast (start hot, drop to 375°F / 190°C) is what gives crackling skin without dry breast meat.
Skim the fat carefully before deglazing. Greasy pan sauce is the most common fail and the fix is just patient spooning.
Add the cold butter off the heat in small pieces. Boiling the butter in breaks the sauce; gentle swirling emulsifies it.

Variations

Serve the soft garlic cloves as a spread on grilled bread alongside the chicken for a Provencal touch.
Add a few sprigs of fresh thyme and a bay leaf to the roasting pan for extra herbal depth.
Stir in 2 tablespoons of crème fraîche or heavy cream at the end for a richer, more decadent sauce.

Serve with mashed potatoes or crusty bread to soak up every drop of the sauce.

Ingredients

3 ½

POUND CHICKEN
(no more than 4 pounds)

SALT AND BLACK PEPPER
to taste *

TABLESPOON UNSALTED BUTTER
softened

EACH GARLIC
separated into individual cloves

CUPS WHITE WINE
dry *

CUPS CHICKEN BROTH

TABLESPOONS BUTTER
unsalted, (no more than 3 tablespoons)

HERB
fresh, finely choppped, as desired, (ie. parsley, rosemary, thyme) *

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450℉ (230℃).

Season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper.

Rub the skin with 1 tablespoon of the softened butter.

Place the chicken in a roasting pan, breast side up, and transfer to the preheated oven.

Roast the chicken for 30 minutes, basting occasionally with the pan juices.

In a saucepan bring 4 to 6 cups of water to a boil.

Blanch the garlic cloves for 15 to 30 seconds, drain and transfer to an ice water bath.

Peel the garlic and reserve.

After the chicken has roasted for 30 minutes, distribute the garlic cloves around the pan.

Reduce the oven heat to 375℉ (190℃) Farenheit and continue to roast for another 15 to 25 minutes, until well browned and the juices run clear when the fleshy part of the thigh is pricked with a fork.

Transfer the chicken to a platter along with ⅓ of the garlic cloves.

With a large spoon skim the fat from the pan taking care not to remove any of the juices and discard.

Place the roasting pan over moderately high heat and deglaze with the white wine, scraping up the brown bits clinging to the bottom and sides.

Simmer the wine until reduced by half.

Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil and reduce by half.

Season with salt and pepper.

Carve the chicken into serving pieces and pour any of the juices into the simmering sauce.

Pour the sauce with the remaining garlic into a blender and purée, in batches if necessary, until smooth.

Return the sauce to the roasting pan and bring back to a simmer.

Swirl in the cold butter in pieces.

Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Stir in the fresh herbs.