40 Cloves and a Chicken

One of my favorite cooking shows comes on the Food Network - Good Eats. Not only do you get some tasty recipes, but you also get a little food history, some nutritional information, equipment tips, and some of the science of cooking – and it’s entertaining and fun to watch to boot.

Some weeks ago, one particular recipe caught my eye, and I decided to give it a try. Garlic is one thing I don’t cook a lot with – mainly because it was never a big ingredient around the house when I grew up. The episode in question (entitled “In the Bulb of the Night”) featured an interesting looking chicken dish that called for 40 – yes, 40 – cloves of garlic.

And it’s a very tasty dish at that.

40 Cloves and A Chicken

1 whole chicken (broiler or fryer), cut into 8 pieces
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
10 sprigs fresh thyme
40 peeled cloves of garlic
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and brown on both sides in a wide fry pan or skillet over high heat. Remove from heat; add oil, thyme, and garlic cloves. Cover and bake for 1 ½ hours.

Remove chicken from oven. Let rest for 5-10 minutes, carve, and serve

(Original recipe can be found here)

Notes from the Hare

When I cooked this I used 6 large chicken breasts, skinless and boneless. Also, since the grocery didn’t have any fresh thyme, I used fresh rosemary instead. Also, I don’t have a skillet big enough to hold all that chicken that is oven safe, so I browned the chicken on the stove and transferred it to a baking dish that I then covered with aluminum foil.

One of the things I really love about Good Eats, though? The occasional little nuggets of wisdom that don’t show up on the website. Case in point – while the chicken is resting, grab a kitchen brush and some good crusty bread. Coat the bread in the olive oil from the pan, then bake it for a couple of minutes until toasted. When serving, the individual garlic cloves can be spread on the toasted bread just like butter.