Garlic and Basil Roast Chicken with Lemon Pan Sauce
By America's Test KitchenPublished on September 12, 2011
Time
2 hours
Yield
Serves 6
Ingredients
Before You Begin
If you’re using canned chicken broth in the sauce, use the low-salt variety; regular chicken broth is salty enough straight out of the can and when reduced by half, as for the sauce in this recipe, it’s practically inedible. Serve the chicken with mashed potatoes and broccoli rabe or some other assertive fall green.
Instructions
- Heat oven to 450 degrees. Mince basil in a food processor fitted with a steel blade; pulse in 2 tablespoons garlic puree. With processor on, add 2 tablespoons oil in a slow, steady stream; mixture will emulsify slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Use fingers to gently separate chicken skin from meat all the way down breastbone, being careful not to pierce skin. Loosen skin around leg and thigh. Spread 1/4 cup garlic mixture under skin, starting on leg and working across breast. Press skin to evenly distribute mixture. Spread 1 tablespoon of garlic mixture in cavity. Truss chicken or simply tie its legs together and tuck third joint of each wing under back. Brush chicken with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Place chicken in a nonreactive roasting pan; add wine and lemon juice. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees; roast chicken, basting often until juices run clear, about 1 1/2 hours. Transfer chicken to a platter. Degrease pan juices, add chicken broth, and stir to loosen browned bits. Pour pan juices into a medium saucepan and boil until reduced by half; whisk in remaining 1 tablespoon garlic puree. Carve chicken; serve sauce separately.
Time
2 hoursYield
Serves 6Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
Many roasted garlic recipes recommend drizzling garlic with olive oil, wrapping it in aluminum foil, and tossing it in the oven but we found this method to be unreliable and it also sometimes gave the garlic a bitter taste. One reason garlic can be tricky to roast is that it is relatively dry. To add some moisture to the garlic in our roasted garlic recipe, we poached it in milk, producing a final product that was beautifully golden in color and perfectly tender.
Before You Begin
If you’re using canned chicken broth in the sauce, use the low-salt variety; regular chicken broth is salty enough straight out of the can and when reduced by half, as for the sauce in this recipe, it’s practically inedible. Serve the chicken with mashed potatoes and broccoli rabe or some other assertive fall green.
Instructions
- Heat oven to 450 degrees. Mince basil in a food processor fitted with a steel blade; pulse in 2 tablespoons garlic puree. With processor on, add 2 tablespoons oil in a slow, steady stream; mixture will emulsify slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Use fingers to gently separate chicken skin from meat all the way down breastbone, being careful not to pierce skin. Loosen skin around leg and thigh. Spread 1/4 cup garlic mixture under skin, starting on leg and working across breast. Press skin to evenly distribute mixture. Spread 1 tablespoon of garlic mixture in cavity. Truss chicken or simply tie its legs together and tuck third joint of each wing under back. Brush chicken with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Place chicken in a nonreactive roasting pan; add wine and lemon juice. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees; roast chicken, basting often until juices run clear, about 1 1/2 hours. Transfer chicken to a platter. Degrease pan juices, add chicken broth, and stir to loosen browned bits. Pour pan juices into a medium saucepan and boil until reduced by half; whisk in remaining 1 tablespoon garlic puree. Carve chicken; serve sauce separately.
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