Do you like chicken? Then you’ll love garlic chicken, a classic recipe of chicken parts that have been browned in olive oil, then cooked with white wine and garlic. It’s also known as “40 Clove Chicken” because that’s how many garlic cloves you’ll use to make the dish. So, crazy right? 40 cloves? Here’s the thing. There’s something about the browning and stewing of the garlic that completely mellows it out. I’ve always had a hard time physically tolerating garlic, and especially raw garlic. But when this many cloves are cooked in this manner, it’s not a problem. Something similar happens when you roast garlic. The long cooking takes all the bite out of the garlic cloves and what you have left is just luscious delicious garlic-ness. Nothing coming through the pores. No having to avoid people who haven’t eaten what you’ve eaten. The recipe is straightforward. It is all done on the stovetop and in one pan for easy cleanup. The thing that can be daunting is peeling all the garlic! Truthfully, you don’t have to peel the garlic if you don’t want to. They’ll cook just as well in their peels, and they’ll slide out of their peels easily once cooked. That said, most people I know don’t want to deal with random bits of inedible garlic peels on their plate. So, the easiest way to peel the garlic cloves is to lightly smash them (just enough to crack open the peel, not obliterate them) with side of a large chef’s knife. Lightly smash all of them, then peel them. Here’s a super-quick video showing how we do it. This recipe has been updated. First published 2008. Can use tarragon in place of some or all of the thyme. Cover the pan and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 20-25 minutes. Chicken is done when a meat thermometer inserted into thickest part reads 160-165°F. If you want, you can thicken the sauce with a little flour, cornstarch, or cream. As it is, it works great over rice, egg noodles, or mashed potatoes. (Skip starches for low carb option.) Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic - an oven roasted version from Marian Burros published in the New York Times
