40 Clove Garlic Chicken

 

I've had this recipe bookmarked for years and finally got the chance to make it.  My one hesitation has always been that I didn't want to peel 40 cloves of garlic!  Alas, on a recent trip to Costco we decided to buy the huge bag of peeled garlic cloves and it's been a treat using garlic in everything and not having to deal with the stickiness of peeling it.  This recipe turned out great in the dutch oven - the chicken was nicely browned and even the white meat retained its juiciness.  The gravy really took on the herby flavor of thyme and went great over rice.  One great surprise was that although the dish looked very garlicky, it did not taste or smell overwhelmingly of garlic.  The garlic cloves when eaten individually boasted a lovely roasted garlic flavor, but the rest of the dish didn't resonate that flavor.  I'm not sure if I just got too used to the garlic smell and flavor or if this rings true for others who've done this recipe. 

40 Clove Garlic Chicken

Serves 4-6

Adapted from smittenkitchen

1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces, at room temperature

Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
40 large garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup chicken stock or canned broth

10 sprigs fresh thyme 

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Place a deep skillet or Dutch oven on high heat and add oil and butter.  When butter has melted and oil is hot, add chicken pieces skin side down and brown until golden brown.  Flip chicken pieces over and brown the other side, about 5 minutes on each side.  Work in batches if necessary so pan does not get overcrowded.  Remove chicken from the pan and set aside.
2. Reduce heat to medium.  Add garlic cloves to the pan and saute for about 10 minutes.  Add white wine and stock, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.
3. Return chicken to the pan.  Add thyme.  Cover and continue cooking about 30 minutes until juices run clear when chicken thigh is pierced. 
4. Remove chicken from the pan and place on a serving plate.  Cover with foil.  Ladle out about 1/2 cup of the sauce that remains in the pan.  Stir cornstarch into the reserved sauce until no more clumps are seen.  While stirring the sauce in the pan, slowly pour the cornstarch mixture into the pan.  Remove from heat and continue stirring until sauce thickens.  Pour sauce, garlic cloves and all, over the plated chicken.  Serve with rice and veggies.

Garlic Chips

Garlic chips add a wonderful flavor as a topping to sauteed vegetables, pasta, mac and cheese, and other side dishes.   They can be a bit tedious to make as you have to watch them carefully so they don't burn, but the results are definitely worth it.  The cooking method is a bit different in that you add your olive oil and garlic slices to the pan before turning on the heat.  This way, the oil and garlic gradually heat up together, preventing the garlic from getting burned quickly as it would if you added it directly to hot oil.  We used garlic chips to top sauteed spinach, adding flavor as well as some crunchiness.

The next day we took leftovers of spinach, garlic chips, Costco rotisserie chicken, grape tomatoes, and pesto to make a quick pasta for dinner.

For those hardcore garlic lovers, it's hard to resist eating the garlic chips straight on their own.  My husband actually loved the garlic chips so much that he asked to make his own batch as a snack to bring to work.  Be forewarned that these will definitely give you garlic breath!   

Garlic Chips
Recipe from Pioneer Woman

5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced very thin
3 Tablespoons olive oil
Salt

1. Pour olive oil in a large skillet and add garlic slices in a single layer.  Turn the stove on medium heat and let the oil and garlic heat up together. 
2. As the garlic starts to bubble, stir the garlic to cook on both sides.  (Or if you're meticulous like my husband, flip each slice individually to cook the other side.)  
3. Remove garlic from the oil with a slotted spoon when it reaches a golden brown color.  Place on a paper-towel lined plate to drain the oil. 
4. At this point, you have fragrant garlic-infused oil left in the skillet.  This would be great for sauteing vegetables, pouring over pasta, or mixing with balsamic vinegar as a dipping sauce for bread.