Slow-Roasted Oregano Chicken With Buttered Tomatoes

By Alison Roman

Published October 8, 2019

  • Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
About 3 hours
Rating
5(1,347)
Comments
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There are about a million ways to roast a chicken, and people will always tell you that theirs is the best way. Here is the truth: If you smear a good, high-quality chicken with enough fat, season it with plenty of salt and roast it until the skin is brown, it will always be excellent. But it’s slow-roasting that gives you golden skin, tender meat and plenty of salty, savory chicken juices to serve as a sauce. From the simple assortment of ingredients to the ridiculously hands-off preparation, this recipe from Alison Roman's cookbook "Nothing Fancy" (Clarkson Potter, 2019) is casual in a way that feels almost lazy (but isn’t), with make-sounds-after-you-take-a-bite levels of deliciousness. To truly put it over the edge, add a few anchovies to the tomatoes.

Featured in: It’s Not Entertaining. It’s Having People Over.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

  • 1 (3 ½- to 4-pound) whole chicken

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • ¼ cup olive oil

  • 1 ½ tablespoons fennel seeds, crushed in a mortar and pestle or spice mill, or chopped with a knife

  • 1 bunch fresh oregano

  • 1 ½ pounds small vine-ripened tomatoes (about 6), halved lengthwise

  • 2 heads of garlic, halved crosswise (it's fine to leave the skin on)

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar

  • 4 to 6 (1-inch-thick) slices of good country bread, such as country loaf or sourdough, toasted (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)

24 grams carbs; 223 milligrams cholesterol; 849 calories; 26 grams monounsaturated fat; 11 grams polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams saturated fat; 57 grams fat; 4 grams fiber; 1136 milligrams sodium; 58 grams protein; 5 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. (If you can do this in advance, please do.) Drizzle it with the olive oil and sprinkle with the fennel seeds.

  2. Step 2

    Stuff the cavity with half the oregano and place in a large baking dish. Scatter the tomatoes, garlic, butter and remaining oregano around the chicken. Roast until the chicken is golden brown and completely cooked through, and the tomatoes are nice and jammy, 2 ½ to 3 hours. Add the vinegar to the tomatoes and let the chicken rest in the baking dish for 10 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Place toast, if using, on serving platter and spoon the jammy tomatoes over or around the toast. Carve the chicken and place on top of the toast to catch the juices.

Tip

  • The chicken can be roasted a few hours ahead; it’s very good at room temperature.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,347 user ratings
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Comments

Robin

Always curious as to why people substitute an entirely new recipe for the one printed, rather than trying the recipe actually presented and then commenting. Anyone know? I enjoy hearing from readers who actually cooked the recipe as written and whether it was good or not. Bob, did you try Alison's recipe, or do you just know, with absolute certainty, Blumenthal's is the best? If you had at least tried Alison's maybe a constructive critique was in order based on your actual experience of both.

Kathy

Serve this with the toast underneath--really elevates this dish. Also be wary of three hours in the oven. Best to check your chicken with a thermometer--done when 165 degrees. My chicken (3.9 lbs) was overcooked at 2.75 hours.

CINDY

I am finally happy to see a long roasted chicken! This is the way I've always cooked roasted chicken........long and low.......as did my grandmother. I think it's the only and most delicious way to roast! The tomatoes look to be a lovely addition!

AD

This was ultimately delicious but I also had oven temp issues. Granted, I’m using a new oven and still trying to figure out how it cooks. My fatal flaw may have been using the convection setting at 300 degrees in an attempt to counteract my perceived concern of all of the moisture from the tomatoes not allowing the skin to crisp up. Like others, at 1:45 my chicken was registering 160-180 degrees but looked dry and gray. The tomatoes weren’t jammy. Thinking the chicken was unsavable and figuring dinner would be tomatoes on toast, I drizzled more olive oil, cranked the oven (non-convection setting) to 450 and put it in for 10 min to try to get something that at least looked closer to brown and glistening. After 10 minutes the chicken came out looking better (still not great) so I set it aside, added vinegar to the tomatoes and finished them on the stovetop cooking down the juices. I lightly smashed them with a fork and removed the garlic from the skins. As I carved the chicken (which i dry brined for six hours) it came off the bone and was pretty tasty so I had hope. I crossed my fingers and served my guests. It was unbelievably good! The tomatoes were sublime on toast. I wish I’d made twice as many. Will make this again not on convection and maybe baste mid-way through cooking with mayo as others have suggested.

AND in CDMX

We made this last night for a dinner party (as Alison suggested). The low-and-slow method produced a really good chicken. Also, it was a good recipe for a dinner party since it's very "set it and forget it;" you have about 10 minutes of prep at the beginning and then have nothing to do with it for 3 hours. (Honestly, if you work from home, it could even be a weeknight dish!) The only drawback was that the tomatoes and garlic, while tasty, didn't really "melt" down into a juicy sauce to mop up.

Mickey Oh

Define baking dish. If made in glass or Pyrex dish, prepare to have non-browned, non- crispy skin. A big miss in the directions. Metal or proper roasting pan is needed.

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Credits

Adapted from "Nothing Fancy" by Alison Roman (Clarkson Potter, 2019)

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