Roast Chicken with Garlic ~ this chicken roasts on a veritable bower of garlic, and when it comes out of the oven, those cloves are mellow and spread like buttah. (Put that rotisserie chicken back in the plastic tub, you won’t be needing it.)
Chicken roasted with garlic is a heavenly combination!
Garlic and I have a complicated relationship… I think it’s harsh when raw, and can overpower other flavors even when it’s been cooked into a dish. But today I’m reminded that a long slow roasting, preferably underneath a chicken, magically fixes all that, and I’m happy to report that garlic and I are now best buds. Yes there’s a lot of garlic in this recipe, but there’s no messy peeling or chopping involved, I just slice off the tops and add the whole heads to the pan. The oven and the chicken drippings do the rest.
How many heads of whole garlic??
If you’ve peeked at the recipe and think I’ve gone over the deep end with the garlic, hold that thought ~ remember that it’s inexpensive, and you can use the leftover bulbs in all kinds of ways (that’s IF you have any leftover.) For days afterward we smooshed those golden nuggets into potatoes, smashed them into our couscous, and slathered them on grilled bruschetta. And of course you can always use any extra roasted garlic to make my epic Hummus with Forty Cloves…that stuff proves that roasted garlic makes everything better.
TIP: You can sometimes find garlic sold by the bag ~ these tend to be smaller, and a great value, too ~ perfect for this recipe!
Prepare garlic for roasting whole
- just slice off the tip (the pointy end) to expose the cloves. The root (the flattened end) will hold all the cloves intact.
- Save those tips, you’ll use them to stuff the cavity of the chicken, so nothing goes to waste.
- Set the garlic cut side up in your pan.
I lined the bottom of my baking dish with the cut heads of garlic. It becomes a base for the chicken to rest on, and will get the benefit of all the wonderful juices that drip down during the cooking. Are you beginning to see where this is going? Yum.
What is purple garlic?
- Most garlic is pure white, but there are other varieties. Some are called softneck, which is most common in supermarkets, and others are called hardneck ~ the softneck variety grows on a flexible stem, and the hardneck grows on a stiff stalk.
- Purple stripe garlic is one of several hardneck varieties of garlic. You can see the small round stalk in the middle of the cloves if you look closely at my cut garlic heads, above.
- Purple garlic has a purplish striped outer skin, with white flesh, and tastes slightly milder than regular garlic.
- Purple garlic is supposed to be ideal for roasting.
I stuff the chicken with those extra garlic tips and fresh lemon wedges ~ the flavors will permeate the chicken as it roasts.
TIP: If you want to remove the smell of garlic from your fingers after you work with it, rub them along your stainless steel faucet or sides of your stainless steel sink when you wash your hands…the molecules in the steel bind with the smelly sulfur molecules on your hands and neutralize the odor, it really works! You can even buy stainless steel ‘soap’!
roast chicken with garlic is a hands off meal
While this isn’t a 30-minute meal, it’s definitely a hands off meal, because, with the exception of a little basting, there’s really nothing to do but enjoy the aromas coming out of your oven.
serving suggestions
You can serve the chicken right in the baking dish, or on a platter, surrounded by the garlic, it’s pretty spectacular either way. Make sure each person gets their own roasted head of garlic. Now doesn’t this beat that rotisserie chicken in the plastic tub??
I love how rustic and homey my chicken looks when I bake it right in a Le Creuset large stoneware multi-bowl ~ I bake stew in this bowl one day, and use it for salad the next. When I’m not using it for a recipe it sits on the counter holding fruit. This bowl goes from the freezer to the broiler without any problem, and saves space in my cupboard! You can click on the photo for more information.
buying the right chicken ~ you have a choice!
I read my meat packages and buy the best quality, most sustainably and humanely raised chicken I can afford ~ animals that haven’t been treated with hormones or antibiotics, and animals that have had a decent life are better for us in every way. It is more expensive, so I just eat less of it, it’s that simple.
Reader Rave ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“I tried this recipe for my husband for Fathers Day-it came out PERFECT. The chicken was not only flavorful but moist as well. I was hoping for leftovers-no such luck! This is the third recipe I’ve tried Sue from your site, and they have all come out perfectly. Thank you, and my husband thanks you!” ~Patricia
Roast Chicken with Garlic
Ingredients
- 4-5 pounds whole fryer chicken, giblets removed
- 10 heads garlic
- 2 lemons, cut in wedges
- 1 bunch fresh thyme
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- salt and fresh cracked black pepper
for basting
- 4 Tbsp melted butter or olive oil
Instructions
- Set oven to 425°F
- Slice the tip ends of the heads of garlic off to expose the cloves. Reserve the loose ends that you’ve chopped off.
- Arrange the heads of garlic, cut side up, on the bottom of a roasting pan or casserole just big enough to hold the chicken. Brush the exposed tops with olive oil.
- Stuff the cavity of the chicken with 1/2 of the lemon wedges and some of the reserved garlic tips (no need to remove the skins) Tie the legs securely together.
- Rub the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the chicken on top of the garlic in the roasting pan.
- Roast the chicken for 20 minutes per pound, basting every 10 minutes with melted butter or olive oil. Make sure you baste the exposed garlic, too! As the chicken starts to release juices, you can baste with its own juices if you like.
- If you cut between the wing and the leg and the juices should run clear, the chicken is done. It should be a nice golden brown. You can be sure by checking with an instant read thermometer inserted between the leg and breast, it should register 160-165F.
- Let the chicken rest under foil for 10 minutes, then slice and serve with the garlic.
Notes
- If you aren’t a garlic lover, you can roast the chicken on a bed of onions, carrots, and potatoes, or any mixture of veggies you happen to love.
Nutrition
Don’t lose this Roast Chicken with Garlic recipe ~ PIN IT!
Amazing recipe! I bought a free range, all-natural chicken from some friends who farm and I wanted to do honor to this worth bird. Of course the first place I looked was here and I was not surprised to see the perfect recipe. I had a bounty of purple garlic from the farmer’s market and followed the recipe. Added the cut lemons to the cavity of the bird as well as on the bottom of the roasting pan. The 4.75 lb bird cooked in just about 90 minutes. I put a pan of local veggies (corn, onions, carrots and peas) in the oven to roast for the final 45 minutes. The roast chicken delivered a lovely broth which I strained and made a pan sauce with butter and some herbes de provence to enhance the overall flavor. Served the chicken and the veggies with rice and pan sauce overall. Huge success! Thank you Sue, for another wonderful recipe.