Milk Roasted Chicken

Milk Roasted Chicken 

At times there happens to be that one recipe which you had your doubts on and then after you create it , it turns out to be one of the best dishes ever. Such is the case with what I would like to call 'The Milk Roasted Chicken'

This recipe is extra special for a number of reasons and to start with the chef who shared it on his website is one of the first chefs I almost fell in love with as a wide eyed high school student. That was a good 8 years ago but his charm remains. Yes its the charming Jamie Oliver. You see before I swore by Larousse Gastronomique and raved about Raymond Blanc's recipes I was an out and out Jamie Oliver Fan not that I still am not. I love some of his stellar recipes.

My first roast turned out fabulous thanks to the guidance of this one celebrity chef. His method of making gravy got me hooked and booked forever. Its one of those stellar recipes. I had almost overlooked this dish and to be fair wasn't too impressed with it when I saw it on his website. Later I came across an article on The Kitchn where the writes raves about how this is the best roast ever and I was yet to buy into the idea.

Then this one lazy afternoon this January I re-read the article on The Kitchn and somehow it seemed intriguing. I casually mentioned it to my good friend and fellow blogger Poorna who assured me of its mind blowing results. Well the assurance from a friend whose taste I respect was reason enough to try it and thank the Lord that I decided to give it a shot because it truly is one of the best roasts ever. Juicy, moist succulent with a lovely crispy skin and this amazing milky gravy with a lemony taste. In fact this was the most succulent and moist roasted chicken I have ever had and I would definitely recommend it to one and all.

The only change I made was using Fresh Parsley instead of sage since we do not easily find sage in most fo the markets of Kolkata.

Before we start I must make it clear that a chicken without its skin wouldn't work for a proper roast. Chicken meat is extremely delicate and without the skin you end up with dry chewy chicken no matter how much you bast the chicken.

Serves 4 to 5

1.5 kilogram chicken with the skin on of course
Zest of 2 lemon
500ml whole milk
3 to 4 tbsp olive oil (You might need a bit of extra oil)
A good handful of fresh Parsley
Salt as per taste
Freshly ground pepper (black) about 2 tsp
10 cloves of garlic with the skin left on

Clean the chicken and take out the giblets and liver and wash and pat dry and then massage it well with salt and freshly ground pepper and leave it for 1/2 an hour and then massage with olive oil and leave it for another 1/2 an hour.

Preheat the oven to 190C . Take a wide bottomed pan which snugly fits the chicken and heat olive oil and sear the chicken till well browned on both sides and decant the pan and take the extra oil out. Place the chicken breast side down and add the milk and then the zest of lemon, garlic and parsley. Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes. Bast the chicken with the milk it is roasting in every 20 minutes or so. After an hour of baking take out the chicken and carefully turn it on its back so that you get the crisp skin.

Take out the chicken and wrap it well with aluminium foil and a tea towel and rest it for a good 15 minutes to 20 minutes and carve the chicken. It is extremely important to rest the chicken so that you get moist soft chicken.

Enjoy it with roasted baby potatoes or wilted greens or mashed potatoes and the lip smacking gravy of course.