Roasted Garlic Chicken Recipe

What better way to start off my blog than to share one of our favorite recipes that we've made for years! It produces a super tender and flavorful roast chicken with yummy roasted garlic on the side.

This is adapted from an old Jacques Pépin recipe I saw him cook on some cooking show probably over 20 years ago. Of note, I cook this in a Römertopf clay baking pot and like the results I get. If you don't have a clay baker you can do this in any oven-safe pot with a tight fitting lid as well. Also, although it may seem like I overdo it with the garlic, using the whole cloves in their skins does not overpower the flavors of the dish. The whole cloves bake to a dark, soft, almost sweet goodness. You can squeeze the garlic out onto baguette slices, mashed potatoes, or other veggies. It is delicious!

​Ingredients:
1 whole roasting chicken
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Dry sherry wine (or other dry white wine)
Olive oil or butter (substitute dairy-free butter substitute if you avoid dairy)
Several large sprigs of fresh rosemary
​Lots of garlic, cloves separated but left in their skins! (I use 4-6 heads of garlic, but you can adjust this to your taste)
1 lemon, cut in half and then each half cut into 4 wedges

1. If you are using a clay baking pot, soak the lid in water in the sink while you prepare the chicken. You shouldn't preheat the oven with a clay cooker, it should be added to a cold oven and then preheated with it in place. If you are using a regular metal pot, you can preheat the oven to 375 F.

2. Although you don't have to, I like to inject my chicken with a mixture of dry sherry and olive oil or melted butter. I combine the oil/butter with sherry in a small pot and heat briefly. Then use a meat injector to inject the breasts and thighs with the mixture.

3. Drizzle just a small amount of olive oil on the chicken and rub it all over the skin. Take the rosemary sprigs and rub them all over the chicken's skin firmly. I even sometimes loosen the skin over the breasts and rub the rosemary on the breast meat directly, even leaving a sprig or two between each breast and skin.

4. If the chicken cavity has a couple fat pads just inside, pull those out and reserve. Season the chicken cavity generously with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with a rosemary sprig or two, a handful of the smaller garlic cloves, and a few pieces of lemon. Then continue seasoning all skin surfaces generously with salt and pepper.

5. Place the chicken breast side down in the roasting pot. If you reserved the chicken fat pads, push them onto the top of the chicken, they will render their fat slowly as the chicken cooks. Tuck in the remaining rosemary, garlic cloves, and lemon pieces around the chicken. I then add an additional splash of dry sherry to the pot, maybe a couple tablespoons or so. Cover the pot and add to the oven. If you are using a clay cooker and didn't preheat, set the oven temperature to 375 F once the pot is in the oven.

6. I generally baste a bit in the later half of cooking, using a turkey baster to suck up some of the liquids collecting in the bottom of the pan and basting the top. Roast the chicken until the meat is practically falling off the bone. You can see this where the skin and meat meet the bone of the drumstick. The meat there should start to pull back away from the bone. If in doubt, you can use a meat thermometer in the breast or thick part of the thigh to confirm doneness. How long this takes depends on the size of the chicken but I usually find it takes at least an hour and up to an hour and a half.

7. If you are in a rush to eat, you can serve as is, slicing off individual cuts of meat from the chicken and serving everyone several roasted garlic cloves in their skins. Again, once cooled a bit you can use your fingers or a fork to squeeze the tender, richly flavored garlic out to enjoy on bread or on mashed potatoes. However, if I have the time I sometimes like to do one fancy extra step to make a gravy...

8. Remove the chicken and all the garlic cloves and cover with foil to keep warm. Pass the remainder of the pot through a fine sieve and collect all the pan drippings. Add this to a small pan and bring to a simmer. Taste for salt and flavor. Season with salt to taste or reduce the sauce a bit to concentrate the flavors. When you are happy with the flavor and seasoning, add a small amount of cornstarch in a bit of water and whisk into the simmering sauce to thicken it. When you're reached your desired gravy consistency, remove from the heat and pour in a gravy boat or other serving bowl.

We love this chicken served alongside mashed potatoes with some of the gravy poured on top. Don't forget to enjoy the roasted garlic cloves, they are a big part of what makes this recipe unique and so delicious!