Chez Louis Roast Chicken
- 12 whole cloves garlic, roasted
- 2 (3 to 3 1/2 pound) chickens, cleaned weight
- 10 tablespoons olive oil
- 10 tablespoons corn, peanut or vegetable oil
- 1 large head of fresh garlic, cut crosswise through center
- 6 sprigs fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried
- 12 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
- 4 teaspoons red wine vinegar and 1/4 cup white wine
- 2 cups fresh or canned chicken broth
- Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons butter
- To roast the garlic, preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Break the garlic into individual unpeeled cloves, season with salt and pepper and 1 teaspoon of olive oil.
- Place the garlic in a heat-proof baking dish and place in the oven.
- Bake 25 minutes and set aside.
- Put chickens in a large bowl and add olive oil, corn oil, split head of garlic, rosemary and half the thyme sprigs.
- Cover and refrigerate.
- Let stand turning occasionally, for 24 hours.
- When ready to cook, scrape the herbs from the chickens, season with salt and pepper.
- It is not necessary to truss them.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Heat a heavy skillet large enough to hold the chickens in one layer without crowding, or use 2 skillets.
- Place the chickens in the skillet(s) breast side down.
- Cook until the breasts are nicely browned, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Turn the chickens to the opposite side and then on their backs.
- Brown each part of the chickens as they are turned.
- Place the chickens in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the chickens from the skillet and pour off the fat.
- Add the wine and vinegar (if 2 skillets are used, use half the remaining ingredients for each skillet), the broth, the roasted garlic cloves, the remaining thyme sprigs tied in a bundle and salt and pepper to taste.
- Bring to a boil and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Swirl in the butter, stirring, and add any liquid that may flow from the inside of each chicken.
- Carve the chickens and arrange on dinner plates.
- Garnish each serving with thyme sprigs and roasted garlic cloves.
- Spoon the sauce over and serve Note: For a wood smoke flavor to the roast chicken - place a roasting pan on top of your stove burner.
- Add 1 cup of apple wood chips and cover with a wire rack.
- This must be done in a well ventilated area, or you can heat the pan on the stove and then bring it outside.
- Heat the pan on the burner on high heat until the wood chips begin to smoke.
- Place the chickens into the rack and cover with another pan (inverted) or aluminum foil.
- Smoke for about 5 minutes then remove from pan and begin browning.
- An old roasting pan should be used for this technique
garlic, chickens, olive oil, corn, head of fresh garlic, rosemary, thyme, red wine vinegar, chicken broth, salt, butter
Taken from www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chez-louis-roast-chicken-recipe.html (may not work)