Chicken With Lots of Garlic

Sorry about the missing entries last week. My computer access (and time) was limited, as I traveled to be with my mom, who was being treated for breast cancer. The operation went well, and we're hoping for a 100% cancer-free result this morning! I'm back at home, which means the recipes will be back to their regularly-scheduled programming. Thanks for your patience :)

This is traditionally called Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic. I didn't use 40 cloves--partially because I didn't have that many (take that, planning ahead!) and partially because I got bored about halfway through peeling them. So we're just calling this Chicken With Lots of Garlic.

This recipe, of course, requires two things. The first one being chicken.

Isn't it pretty? It is, of course, from Painted Hill Farm. It almost looks like it could be duck!

I had about 2 1/2 lbs. of bone-in chicken thighs here. I gave the thighs a nice salt and peppering on both sides.

The second thing you need is, of course, garlic.

This was most of a whole head of garlic--I did a quick count, it was somewhere around two dozen cloves. If you have the time and patience to peel 40 cloves, by all means go for it!

I heated a frying pan over medium to medium-high heat, along with some olive oil. When my pan was hot, I lay the chickens skin-side-down.

After the first side is golden brown (about 5 minutes), I flipped them over to get the other side nice and colored.

When the other side is equally colored, remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside.

Turn the heat down somewhere between medium-low and medium. Then add your garlic.

Chop up a shallot.

Add the shallots to the pan with the garlic and give everything a stir.

A palmful of dried thyme (or fresh, if you've got it) should come next.

When your shallots are softened and your garlic lightly colored, pour in half a small bottle (about half a cup) of white wine.

Now you can add your chicken back into the pan. Breast side up this time!

Cover your pan with a lid (or, if your pan doesn't have a lid, some tinfoil.) Turn the heat down to low and let the heat from your stove take over. The steam from the wine will cook your chicken all the way through.











After about 45 minutes (less if your thighs are on the smaller side), your chicken should be perfectly cooked, with a nice mild garlic and thyme flavor. The wine and chicken juices make a simple pan sauce, and the garlic should be sweet and edible. Look at that--about an hour of prep and cooking time, and 6 ingredients, and you've got yourself a great dinner!

Recipe: Chicken With Lots of Garlic
2 1/2 lbs (4-6 bone-in) chicken thighs
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil

lots of garlic (25-40 cloves)
1 shallot, diced
3/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 c. white wine


Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large pan. Sear chicken over medium to medium high heat, skin side down first. 4-5 minutes per side should be long enough to get a nice golden brown color. Remove chicken from pan.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Add garlic, shallot, thyme, and white wine. Add chicken back to pan, skin side up.

Reduce heat to low and cover pan. Gently cook chicken for 45 minutes until fully cooked through. Serve!