Description
Jamie Oliver’s Chicken in Milk is a unique and delicious roast chicken recipe that uses milk, lemon zest, garlic, sage, and cinnamon to create a tender, flavorful dish with a rich and slightly tangy sauce. The chicken is browned first on the stovetop then baked slowly in milk, resulting in moist meat and a distinctive curdled milk sauce infused with aromatic spices.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken
- 3 – 3.5 lb (1.5 – 1.8 kg) whole chicken
- 2 tsp salt (plus more to taste)
- Black pepper, 5 grinds
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Herbs & Spices
- 1/2 stick cinnamon
- 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh sage leaves
Other
- Zest of 2 lemons (avoid pith)
- 10 cloves of garlic, whole with skin on
- 2 1/4 cups low fat milk
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F) to prepare for baking the chicken.
- Prepare Chicken: Wash the whole chicken thoroughly under running water and pat dry thoroughly with paper towels to ensure crispy skin when cooking.
- Season Chicken: Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of salt and about 5 grinds of black pepper all over the chicken, ensuring to cover the top and sides evenly. Pat the seasoning in gently.
- Heat Oil: Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy-based pot over high heat, ready for browning the chicken.
- Brown Chicken: Using tongs inserted into the rear of the chicken and a wooden spoon to leverage and tilt the bird, carefully brown the chicken on as many sides as possible. This step develops flavor and color while minimizing skin tears.
- Drain Fat: If possible, pour out the excess fat from the pot while keeping the chicken inside. If not feasible, remove the chicken onto a plate and then drain the fat from the pot separately.
- Add Flavorings: Add the cinnamon stick, fresh sage leaves, lemon zest, garlic cloves, and milk into the pot. Return the chicken to the pot if you had removed it.
- Bake Chicken: Cover the pot with a lid or foil and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Then remove the cover and continue baking uncovered for an additional 50 minutes. This slow bake in milk tenderizes the chicken and creates a flavorful sauce.
- Rest and Serve: After baking, let the chicken rest for about 5 minutes before transferring it from the pot to a serving plate. Serve the milk sauce on the side with the curds, garlic, and sage bits for added texture and flavor.
Notes
- Use a heavy-based pot with a lid suitable for oven use for even cooking and easy browning.
- Be gentle when browning the chicken to prevent skin tearing; tilting with tongs and a wooden spoon helps.
- The milk sauce will curdle slightly during baking; this is normal and adds to the dish’s unique texture and flavor.
- Leftover sauce can be spooned over the chicken or served on the side as a flavorful accompaniment.
- Using fresh lemon zest is critical to avoid the bitterness of the pith and to impart bright citrus flavor.