James Beard's Chicken With 40 Cloves of Garlic
- Total Time
- 1 hour 40 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 4ribs of celery, cut into long strips
- 2medium-size onions, coarsely chopped
- 6sprigs parsley
- 1tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
- ⅔cup vegetable oil
- 16chicken legs, any mix of drumsticks and thighs
- ½cup dry vermouth
- 2½teaspoons salt
- ½teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- 40cloves garlic, unpeeled
- French bread for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
1097 calories; 83 grams fat; 19 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 40 grams monounsaturated fat; 17 grams polyunsaturated fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 66 grams protein; 1124 milligrams sodium
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
- Step 1
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cover the bottom of a heavy 6-quart casserole with the celery and onions and add the parsley and tarragon. Place the oil in a shallow dish. Dip the chicken pieces into the oil, coat all sides evenly and place in the casserole. Pour the vermouth over the chicken and sprinkle with the salt, pepper and a few gratings of nutmeg. Tuck the garlic around and between the chicken pieces.
- Step 2
Cover the top of the casserole tightly with aluminum foil and fit the lid over the foil to create an airtight seal. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes without removing the cover. Check for doneness; return casserole to the oven if the chicken seems underdone. Serve the chicken along with the pan juices, the garlic and thin slices of heated French bread spread with garlic squeezed from the root end of the clove.
Private Notes
Comments
My son just texted me: "Is this your garlic chicken?" Yes, I've been making it for 40 years – since my kids were little and I had no money. I use skinless chicken and skip the oil. I seal up the pot with both a lid and foil, cut the temperature to 300 and cook for 3 hours. When I was feeding an army, I used 6 pounds of cheap chicken and adjusted the other ingredients accordingly. The leftover meat makes fabulous chicken tetrazini and everything that remains goes into soup.
It's better if the chicken be skinless; other you get soggy skin that no one particularly wants to eat.
Not a fan of parsley and the friend I was cooking for doesn't like tarragon, so I used fresh thyme and a couple of strips of lemon peel instead.
An elegant comfort food. The chicken was tender and juicy, the garlic was perfect and the flavors melded together to create a wonderful one-pot dinner. Next time I'd like to try to brown the chicken before cooking it on the pot. I did remove the skin from the chicken which made for a lighter meal. Will definitely make again.
I halved everything but the garlic; possibly the best chicken I’ve ever made, and I’ve made a lot of roast chickens.
Classic, delicious dish! Our family devours this meal.