Last updated on December 2nd, 2011
Fabulously French, easy to make, and the perfect main course for any winter evening is my version of Chicken with 40 (more or less) Cloves of Garlic. If you have a working fireplace and a cast-iron skillet, you can make this poetry-in-a-pan on the open hearth, as I do. Or, accomplish all at your stovetop. Either way, the process takes only 30 minutes from start to finish.
Ingredients for 4 servings:
2 or 3 heads of garlic, cloves separated but not peeled
8 skinless, boneless, chicken thighs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Olive Oil
Fresh thyme
1/4 cup dry Vermouth
Salt and Pepper
Special Equipment:
For fireplace cooking, use a well-seasoned, cast-iron skillet, preferably 12-inches in diamter, and with a tight-fitting, glass (Pyrex) lid; for stovetop preparation, use any large skillet with a lid
A small saucepan, for poaching the garlic
Poaching the Garlic
In the saucepan, poach the unpeeled garlic cloves in boiling water for exactly 10 minutes. As the garlic poaches, brown the chicken.
Browning the Chicken Thighs
Be sure the chicken is well-dried or it will not brown properly. Set the skillet over moderately high heat; add one tablespoon each of butter and oil. When it is very hot but not smoking, lay in the chicken pieces. (Do not crowd the pan: there should be a little air space between each piece for proper browning; do the chicken in 2 batches if necessary.) Turn the chicken every 20 seconds or so until a rich, brown color is achieved.
Finishing the Cooking
Drain garlic, and then pour the cloves over the chicken thighs. Add salt, pepper, and three or more stems of fresh thyme. Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid, and let the chicken mixture simmer, over moderate heat, for 20 minutes or until juices run clear.
Making the Glaze
Remove chicken and garlic to a platter, and keep it warm. Pour vermouth into the hot skillet, and boil it down rapidly, all the while scraping up coagulated juices from the bottom of the pan. When the liquid is reduced to the syrupy stage, swirl in a tablespoon of butter, to smooth out and enrich the glaze. Toss in a tablespoon of butter, and swirl it around until melted. Pour the glaze over chicken, strew on addition sprigs of thyme, and serve immediately.
Eating the Garlic
To eat the unpeeled garlic, simply pinch, with the fingers, the pointed tip of a clove. Out will come the garlic in a smooth, flavorful paste. You can spread this creamy goodness on rounds of French bread, or, if you are carb-conscious, on the chicken pieces.
Open-Hearth Cooking:
Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic is really easy to make in front of a fire (it is also tastier, because of the increased caramelization that is inevitable with fireplace cooking). On the hearth, arrange two bricks about 10 inches apart, and shovel red-hot embers between them. Then set the frying pan on top of the bricks. Proceed exactly as for stovetop cooking, adding or withdrawing embers to increase or decrease heat. If you have a flame-proof saucepot, you can poach the garlic at the hearth, too. Otherwise, do your poaching at the stovetop, and accomplish all else at the fireplace.
Related Posts:
Kitchen Counter Herb Garden
Recipe: Savory Fried Sage Leaves
Recipe: Whole Roasted Onions
Carol says
Wow – sounds really, really easy. If I can get to the market today, I'll make it tonight. It will have to be at the stove, however. I'm not brave enough to cook at the fireplace!
Andrew Thompson says
Kevin, this dish has everything I like: chicken, garlic, and vermouth! Guess I can spare some of the latter liquid from my nightly martini…
Judy says
Looks absolutely delicious!! And I love the fact that you cook it at your fireplace! Very Little House on the Prairie! Did you used to watch that show??
Emily says
I've seen many recipes for this French dish that involve peeling (!) at least 40 cloves of garlic. That's why I've never made it. Yours looks really easy, and I like the idea of using boneless thighs. They are more flavorful than other chicken parts, and faster-cooking. Thanks for posting this, Kevin.
Brenda says
This sounds wonderful Kevin! Can't wait to try it! Thanks for sharing!!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Carol – One day I'll explain how I “got into” fireplace cooking.
Andrew – so I guess you have at least one of the ingredients already!
Judy – I was never drawn to LHOTP, which is surprising. For I definitely have a “pioneer” spirit!
Emily – You are right. No peeling of garlic, and no lengthy cooking time as with in-bone chicken. Just easy and delicious.
Brenda – You are welcome!
despina says
wow, Kevin, this looks so good. perfect for the oncoming cold weather.
Even I can do it.
Despina
Carol says
Well, I made your chicken recipe last night, and I can tell your readers that it is a culinary triumph! My supermarket only had large packs of boneless chicken thighs, so I made 10, not 8. And I wish that I had used 3 heads of garlic instead of two. My husband loved the dish as much as me. The garlic is really creamy and mild after cooking, and it does come out of its skin with the slightest pinch. I let the chicken simmer for an extra 10 minutes, just to make sure that thoroughly cooked. Anyway, thanks, and bravo, chef Kevin!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Despina – do try it!
Carol – I'm delighted that you tried the recipe, and that you and yours enjoyed it.
John says
How cool that you include recipes here!
Will says
Having eaten this dish on many an ocassion, I can vouch that it is beyond delicious. Will
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
John – stay tuned…there's more to come!
Will – I remember cooking this for you during the horrid ice storm of Dec., 2008. That's when I became an aficionado of fireplace-cooking!
Matt says
Your recipe sounds easy and the finished product looks elegant. I'll give it a try.
Anonymous says
Definitely an improvement on the old 40 clove involved recipe. PLEASE!!! More information on fireplace cooking. Would love ALL the details. Thanks for a yummy recipe.
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Anonymous – Details on fireplace cooking is forthcoming…stay tuned!
Judy S says
Hi, I just found your blog and am enjoying my self-guided tour.
I have a question about the above recipe. In the “finishing” section, are you throwing away the garlic juice (which seems like a waste of deliciousness) or are you pouring it over the chicken to simmer? Otherwise, in what liquid is the chicken simmering?
Thanks, I look forward to trying it. It sounds like a great recipe to serve guests!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Judy S – Lovely to meet you.
I do not save the garlic-poaching liquid, although you might like to. I would not, however, pour this liquid oven the chicken. The chicken should simmer in the butter and oil, and also in its own fat.
And you are right — this is a GREAT dish for serving guests. I beg you to try it!
Judy S says
Kevin, thank you for the reply. I’ve been reading through your recipes and the ones that appeal to me all sound like a favorable combination of wonderfully flavorful and realistically simple. I can’t wait to try a few. This line tells me that these are rich flavorful pieces of edible art: “The chicken should simmer in the butter and oil, and also in its own fat.”
I think I’m drooling a little.
Patricia says
Hello,
Thank you for sharing the history of your home. I find it very interesting. I am doing some
genealogy work on my family. Many arrived in the early 1700’s. It is interesting to see how they might have lived. The ones that had the resources. Many others were homesteads after the Rev War.
Having been the third-fourth generation after the Civil War devastated the MO-AR area, I grew up very different. When I read the stories of my 6th great grand father and his 4 homes, it just amazes me. Let’s see more, I found the basement and floor problems interesting too, Property
brothers another of my favorites.
Thank you for sharing.
Patricia
S.A. Smith says
I know this post is old, but I just happened onto it today. Love the tour of the house and look forward to browsing the recipes. BUT – I must tell you my personal experience with the chicken with 40-cloves of garlic recipe. One of my bosses loved this dish and would get together annually with several people and indulge. And, I have to tell you that before he entered the room, I could smell him coming. The entire floor was wondering where the smell came from and he smelled for several days. I could barely stand to sit in the same room with him. The smell was horrendous. Enduring this for the entire day, his boss told him that in the future, when he ate 40-clove garlic chicken, he must take a couple days off afterwards. So, just a warning to those who love this delicious dish. Stay home for a couple days afterwards. Do not subject your coworkers with the garlic smell you are certain to waft through the halls as you pass by.