Have I ever mentioned how much I love Bon Appetit magazine? One of my favorite birthday gifts is a Bon Appetite subscription from my friend Jennifer. Recently, a Bon Appetit recipe for slow roasted chicken stopped me in my tracks. I love easy recipes but more than that, I love easy yet flavorful recipes.
Bon Appetit’s slow roasted chicken with garlic, to date, is one of my favorite chicken recipes. A lot of folks are afraid of roasting a whole chicken. Some worry that the chicken won’t cook all the way through or they’ll dry it out. I’m here to tell you: do not be afraid. Roasting chicken is a lot easier than you think and it’s a pretty hands-off process. Slow roasting a chicken almost ensures you won’t mess it up.
The original recipe calls for green garlic bulbs but I’ll be honest, I had a tough time finding green garlic. If you’re lucky enough to find green garlic bulbs where you are, by all means use it. I simply replaced the green garlic bulbs with green onions. I don’t know a lot about green garlic bulbs so I didn’t miss it from the recipe.
I asked a farmer friend about it and he prefers to use garlic rather than green garlic bulbs. He said there was a flavor that “regular” garlic has that’s much more robust than green garlic. I took his opinion to heart – I mean, he’s a farmer so he knows what he’s talking about, right?
My favorite part of this recipe was the garlic. There is almost nothing better than roasted garlic. Roasted garlic is so soft, almost buttery and the flavor isn’t too intense. I served this roasted chicken with a side of broccolini and roasted potatoes. I’m thinking a crunchy, crusty bread would be a great addition too. My mouth is watering even thinking about this dish. Please promise me you’ll make this for dinner soon and when you do, you’ll let me know.
Slow Roasted Chicken with Garlic
Ingredients
- Small handful of green onions (about 10)
- 1 3 1/2 - 4lb. chicken
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1 cup garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 lemon cut into 8 wedges, seeds removed
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Heat oven to 325 degrees
- Place chicken in a 2 qt. baking dish or Dutch oven
- Cut off the bulbs (white part) of the green onions and place inside of the chicken
- Loosely tie the chicken legs together with kitchen twine
- Cut the green parts of the green onions in half (now you should have about 20 pcs)
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper
- Place the garlic, green onions and lemon all around the chicken (make sure it's all snug)
- Pour olive oil over the chicken
- Roast (turning garlic and lemon occasionally) about 2 1/2 - 3 hours
