40 Cloves of Garlic Chicken Recipe Is a Classic Chicken Dinner Made Famous By James Beard Chicken Recipes Dinner French Recipes

The recipe for chicken with 40 cloves of garlic was first published in 1974 and made famous by James Beard. While 40 cloves sounds like a lot of garlic (and yes, it is!), it's really only two to three heads of garlic. Not that much, really! The whole baked chicken recipe is a classic and perfect for weeknight dinners or company.

To make this classic chicken dinner you will need more than just garlic (but not much more). Here is your shopping list: a whole chicken, fresh thyme, olive oil, garlic, white wine, chicken broth, butter and lemons for juicing. The chicken bakes up in little over an hour. 

The garlic not only flavors this chicken recipe, but is wonderful squeezed onto toasted bread to enjoy with the chicken. You could also blend it into homemade ranch salad dressing for a garlicy kick. (Read about the health benefits of garlic!)

Serve this easy 40 cloves of garlic chicken with your favorite side dishes. Shred the leftovers for a tasty chicken salad. 

Cuisine: French
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 1/2 hours
Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (about 3 pounds)
• 2 tablespoons chopped thyme
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 40 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Recipe Notes

• You could add other fresh herbs to the chicken before baking.

• To make the prep easier for this recipe, buy peeled garlic cloves in a jar.

• Use the leftover chicken in any recipe calling for cooked chicken meat. 

Here's how to make it:

1. Put the chicken into a cast iron skillet or ovenproof skillet. Season the chicken with salt and black pepper. Drizzle the olive oil all over the chicken (try to get some under the skin, too). Sprinkle with the thyme. Add the garlic cloves around the chicken.
2. Bake the chicken in a preheated 375-degree F oven for about 1 hour, basting occasionally. When the chicken is cooked through (internal temperature 165 degrees F), remove it and the garlic to a serving platter and pour the accumulated juices into a bowl. 
3. Put the skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the wine to deglaze the pan, stirring up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Cook until wine has reduced by half. 
4. Add the pan juices and chicken broth to the skillet. Simmer until it reduces to about 3/4 cup. Stir in the butter and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with the chicken and garlic.

Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. This recipe has been analyzed by HappyForks. However, any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.

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