What’s in a name? Turns out, some might think it’s actually less than meets the eye. A few months back, I was stunned to see results of a Research study where people could identify the names of strangers by looking at their faces! Upon seeing photos of faces, participants correctly guessed a person’s name from a list at a rate (significantly) better than chance would assume. Is that crazy? Strangely, and contrary to what some might wish, the theory here is that people subconsciously adapt their look to the cultural norms that their name might dictate. For instance, in American culture, we often expect a person named “Bob” to have a rounder face than someone named “Tim”. (Isn’t that true?) Or a “Jenny” might have longer hair than a “Pat”. Do you find that disappointing? Pretty sure I do. This chicken, conversely, will not disappoint. And, unlike the “Name the Face” study, you likely can’t tell just by looking how awesome this chicken is. I’ll admit, it is not that attractive; maybe it’s downright ugly, with that kind of curdled looking sauce. By looking at it, you also have no idea that this dish is called Chicken in Milk. Not even the flavor gives away that ingredient. But the flavor does honestly say that Roast Chicken in Milk should be renamed “The Most Awesome Roast Chicken You’ve Ever Had!”
Like other Chicken Recipes I’ve posted, Roast Chicken In Milk is a pretty simple recipe with a few key ingredients – sage, lemon, a cinnamon stick, and of course, whole milk – don’t even try to use 1% or 2%, only whole milk will do – and a few minutes of prep lead to this juicy, flavorful roast chicken. It’s so good you may just push the side dishes to the place they belong – the side – to make room for more of this heavenly stuff. It is kind of ugly, but really, you can get past that, can’t you? This recipe comes from Jamie Oliver, purveyor of all sorts of delicious recipes. So, while you can find this recipe written in many spots, this video (in which Jamie is translated to German) is interesting to watch and you can see extra steps he takes to boost the flavor, steps which most written recipes exclude. I included these steps in my adapted recipe.
So as good as we all may be at picking someone’s name from a list, I’ll bet you’ll agree with me that Chicken in Milk should be renamed Best Roast Chicken EVER! Enjoy!
Roast Chicken in Milk (Jamie Oliver)
Roast Chicken in Milk is everything a chicken should be: juicy, fragrant with lemon, sage and cinnamon, and so flavorful you will wish you’d made 2!
I pretty much stuck to Jamie’s recipe with the exception that my pot was bigger than one that would fit the chicken “snugly”, so I added a full quart of whole milk. If your pot fits your chicken “snugly”, you might want to stick with just 2 1/2 cups, as in the original recipe.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 90 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 Servings 1x
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Oven Roasting
Ingredients
- 1 Whole Chicken (3–4 lb)
- 1/2c (stick) Unsalted Butter, separated
- 1/4 c Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 small cinnamon stick
- 10 cloves garlic (skin left on)
- 1 Qt. (4 c) Whole milk
- 1 Handful fresh sage – about 15–20 leaves
- 2 Lemons
- Kosher Salt and Freshly ground Pepper
Instructions
Prepare the seasonings
- Remove the sage leaves from the stems. Reserve stems.
- Using a vegetable peeler, peel wide strips of peel from the lemons. Slice peeled lemons in 1/4-1/2” sections.
Brown the Chicken
- Preheat oven to 375F. Heat a heavy, oven-proof pot over Medium-high heat on the stove. Add 1/2 stick of butter and the olive oil. Season the chicken well with salt and pepper. Once oil is hot and butter is bubbly, sear the chicken on all sides until it is golden. Remove chicken to a plate, turn heat down to medium-low. Pour out the butter and olive oil (it should be black at this point.
- Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the sliced lemon pieces and the sage stems. Truss the legs if you like.
Add the Flavoring
- Melt remaining 1/4 cup butter to the pot. Once it melts, add the cinnamon stick and garlic cloves (skin on is fine!) and saute until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
- Return the stuffed chicken to the pot. Add the milk, sage leaves and strips of lemon peels.
- Optional: Tear a 18” sheet of parchment paper, run it under a little water, and place it over the chicken, tucking it loosely around the chicken. This will retain the moisture nicely during roasting.
- Place in preheated oven and roast for 90 minutes, basting the chicken occasionally. If you did not use the parchment method, be sure to pay attention to the amount of sauce in the pot – if it reduces too much, cover the pot half-way to slow it down.
- To serve, the chicken should be done enough that you could use a spoon to divide the chicken into quarters for serving. Serve with remaining sauce (See Notes).
Notes
- While cooking, you will notice the sauce “curdles” – no worries, as it cooks it will begin to get smoother. When done, the sauce may still be a bit curdled-looking, and it will likely be cooked down substantially. This is fine, just stir it up with a whisk or spoon and place some on each serving.
- It is delicious served with potatoes, bread, or rice, along with sautéed greens.
Oh boy, those researchers will always find some peculiar correlations between different things, won’t they?:) On the other hand, who knows. They say that couples/spouses start to have some similarities in their appearance throughout the years together. Moreover, they say pets get some similarities in their appearance and behavior from their owners…so perhaps, there’re some grounds with names too. Anyway, I’ve known this recipe for years (From Jamie too), but I’ve never tried it. Looks so good, Laura!
Thanks, Ben! And thanks for visiting!
As a big Jamie fan, I will have to try this recipe, Laura. Thanks for sharing it and inspiring me. 😉
Thanks so much for visiting!
I can’t wait to try your chicken! I became a huge Jamie fan when we were living in England. I’ve made many of his recipes over the years and I’ve never had one that disappoints. I think your chicken looks yummy. I’d like to try making it with leg quarters. Do you think they would come out ok? I guess I’d have to place the lemon and sage under the legs and in the pan.
I think it would be equally good with just the leg quarters! Maybe cooking time a bit shorter? I think as long as you include the lemon peel and sage leaves, you may not need the sage stalks. Adding a few lemon pieces underneath the chicken would be good! Good luck, let me know how it turns out!
Oh wow, this looks so amazing. I love the recipe, this is such a delicious and fragrant way to cook chicken. Simple and perfect. I am going to love trying out this reipe.
Thanks, Ashika! Hope you get the chance to try it! I hope you’ll love it as much as we do!
Wow, what an interesting study! I wonder what folks who are named David look like? 🙂 If I had a plate of this chicken in milk in front of me, I’d have it stuffed in my face! It looks so delicious and perfect for a comfort food dinner. Thanks for the tips…and for the fun article, too!
Thanks, David! Likewise, I wonder what others named Laura look like. It’s a less and less common name these days, although not in your house or mine.?. Hoping for a comeback of the Lauras, myself. Ha! Thanks for visiting!
Oh my gosh. I can’t wait to read that article! SO INTERESTING! This chicken is just perfection 🙂
Kelsie-have fun reading. I think the article also links to a bigger article about the study, which, if you are like me, is even more interesting. For some reason, I love reading results of investigational studies. ? Thanks for visiting!
This roast chicken looks so heavenly Laura!! I have never thought of roasting chicken in milk flavored with cinnamon, garlic and lemon.. But I am so tempted to try now..Didn’t your house smell amazing after making this!!
Deepika- you are so right! The aroma was so so amazing! I’d never thought of milk either, but Jamie Oliver convinced me!
i heard about this recipe a while ago, but i’ve been scared to try it out. something about all that milk roasting makes me scared. even though i’ve heard rave reviews about it! maybe someday i’ll make it lol.
I know exactly what you mean, Heather! I had the same trepidation, but the rave reviews (thankfully!) swayed me toward making it! Thanks for visiting!
Love the idea, simple and tasteful ! Thank you for sharing !
Thanks so much for visiting!