Jamie Oliver’s Chicken in Milk

Name: Jamie Oliver’s Chicken in Milk
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 (3 to 4 pound) whole chicken; Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste; 1/4 cup unsalted butter; 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 1 small cinnamon stick; 10 cloves garlic, skins left on; 2 1/2 cups whole milk; 1 handful of fresh sage, leaves picked — around 15 to 20 leaves; 2 lemons

Recipe from Jamie Oliver

Adapted by Sam Sifton

Jamie Oliver’s Chicken in Milk — Gentl and Hyers for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Amy Wilson.

Total Time: 2 hours
Rating: 4(3,636)
Comments: Read comments

The British chef and cooking star Jamie Oliver once called this recipe, which is based on a classic Italian one for pork in milk, “a slightly odd but really fantastic combination that must be tried.” Years later he told me that that characterization made him laugh. “I was hardly upselling its virtues,” he said. The dish’s merits are, in fact, legion. You sear a whole chicken in butter and a little oil, then dump out most of the fat and add cinnamon and garlic to the pot, along with a ton of lemon peel, sage leaves and a few cups of milk, then slide it into a hot oven to create one of the great dinners of all time. The milk breaks apart in the acidity and heat to become a ropy and fascinating sauce, and the garlic goes soft and sweet within it, its fragrance filigreed with the cinnamon and sage. The lemon meanwhile brightens all around it, and there is even a little bit of crispness to the skin, a textural miracle. It is the sort of meal you might cook once a month for a good long while and reminisce about for years. —Sam Sifton

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

1(3 to 4 pound) whole chicken
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
¼cup unsalted butter
¼cup extra-virgin olive oil
1small cinnamon stick
10cloves garlic, skins left on
2½cups whole milk
1handful of fresh sage, leaves picked — around 15 to 20 leaves
2lemons

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Season the chicken aggressively with the salt and pepper. Place a pot that will fit the chicken snugly over medium-high heat on the stove, and add to it the butter and olive oil. When the butter has melted and is starting to foam, add the chicken to the pot and fry it, turning every few minutes, until it has browned all over. Turn the heat down to low, remove the chicken from the pot and place it onto a plate, then drain off all but a few tablespoons of the fat from the pot.
Step 2
Add the cinnamon stick and garlic to the pot, and allow them to sizzle in the oil for a minute or 2, then return the chicken to the pot along with the milk and sage leaves. Use a vegetable peeler to cut wide strips of skin off the two lemons, and add them to the pot as well. Slide the pot into the oven, and bake for approximately 1½ hours, basting the chicken occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and tender and the sauce has reduced into a thick, curdled sauce. (If the sauce is reducing too quickly, put a cover halfway onto the pot.)
Step 3
To serve, use a spoon to divide the chicken onto plates. Spoon sauce over each serving. Goes well with sautéed greens, pasta, rice, potatoes or bread.

Ratings

4 out of 5

3,636 user ratings

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Comments

LoriO7 years ago

I use a standard sized Dutch oven for this dish and don't bother dumping out the butter. The first time I made this dish we were living overseas where we only had shelf stable milk. The dish was fantastic...silky, creamy, bright. When we came back to the states I tried the recipe with different milks, 1%, 2%, and whole and I couldn't duplicate the texture. So I tried a box of shelf stable milk (parmalat). Bingo, the texture was back! It also means that I can make this dish anytime.

Scott Chakiris7 years ago

I tried this recipe enthusiastically when it began making the rounds. I followed instructions precisely and had the worst possible outcome--a bitter, acrid mess that had to be tossed out immediately. Any ideas?

Ann Kruze7 years ago

Before I embark on this, I need to know if the pot in the picture is the one you used to cook this recipe. It does not fit my concept of a pot that would fit the chicken snugly.

CJ Miller6 years ago

Tonight, I'm going to try a veriation of this recipe. I will be using a couple of chicken leg quarters. I will sub margerine rather than the olive oil, use an italian seasoning blend and basil, rather than sage, large amounts of garlic powder added at the last, and lemon pepper seasoning rather than adding lemon, because the acidity of lemon juice can cause the milk to break and curdle but lemon seasoning is less apt to create that effect. The way I do it is pretty close to a thick country milk.

CJ Miller6 years ago

P.s. I simmered this chicken in milk dish on the stove and covered and vented. It worked just as well as oven-roasting and the sauce remained white rather than going all icky and beige.

Aaron6 years ago

Very moist and good flavor. I followed one of the suggestions below and kept it covered in the pot for the first half of cooking, and unfortunately the sauce didn't reduce enough. Tasty nonetheless.

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