Jamie Oliver’s Chicken In Milk
The recipe sounds a little strange and the picture doesn’t do it justice, but this is the BEST chicken recipe. I was looking for something special to cook for a little romantic dinner and remembered that a couple months ago my friend Holly made this for her husband. She’s a vegetarian, but she said that her husband absolutely loved it. I gave it a whirl and was equally enamored. Roast chicken with sage, lemon, cinnamon… and curdled milk? But trust me, it’s delicious. And even though it does take a little time in the oven, it was really simple to make. I liked the fact that it didn’t require a really long grocery list, which is nice for a weeknight dinner.
I’ve included the original Jamie Oliver recipe, but have to admit that I improvised a little. Instead of cooking a whole chicken, (I asked for boneless breasts with the skin on. I am still a little wimpy when it comes to dealing with meat.) No one noticed or cared though 
Since I didn’t use a whole chicken, the cook time was a little less. Using a dutch oven, I browned the skin stovetop and then moved the whole thing into the oven. At the same temp, it took about an hour. I also took the skin off the garlic. It probably wouldn’t have hurt anything, but I didn’t want the skins junking up the dish.
I served this with roasted parsnips and a really creamy, decadent polenta. I’ll post the recipe for that this week too!
Chicken in Milk from Jamie Oliver
1 (3 pound) organic chicken
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 oz. (1 stick) butter
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 good handful fresh sage, leaves picked
2 lemons, zested
6 garlic cloves, skin left on
1 pint milk
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and find a snug-fitting pot for the chicken. Season it generously all over with salt and pepper, and fry it in the butter, turning the chicken to get an even color all over, until golden. Remove from the heat, put the chicken on a plate, and throw away the butter left in the pot. This will leave you with tasty sticky goodness at the bottom of the pan, which will give you a lovely caramel flavor later on. Put your chicken back in the pot with the rest of the ingredients, and cook in the preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours. Baste with the cooking juice when you remember. The lemon zest will sort of split the milk, making a sauce, which is absolutely fantastic.
To serve, pull the meat off the bones and divide it on to your plates. Spoon over plenty of juice and the little curds. Serve with wilted spinach or greens and some mashed potato.
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[...] Monday I promised to post the recipe for the amazing polenta I cooked to accompany the chicken in milk dish. Polenta is pretty straightforward; the preparation steps and basic ingredients stay the same [...]
This looks really interesting. I’ll admit that the curdled milk is a little off-putting, but it sounds like it actually works pretty well.
The Italians do a pork dish similar to this. It really is amazing. I bet it is good with chicken.
Do you mix the milk in after you throw away the butter?
margie, with pork? INTERESTING. do you know the name of the dish? and in answer to your question, yep. i drained the butter & then added the milk!
thanks for reading. it was good to hear from you
In English it’s called Pork Braised in Milk. Cook’s Illustrated has a version of it. I originally saw it in Marcella Hazan’s “Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking”. In Italian it’s called Arrosto di Maiale al Latte. Hazan’s book is great if you’re serious about Italian cooking. One of my favorites is a de-boned chicken stuffed with ground beef and Parmesan and then roasted. Amazingly good even though it sounds a little ridiculous!
Tried it last weekend; not impressed.
And Jamie has re-written the receipe to clarify that you only use the zest of 2 lemons; not the lemons plus zest.
salty, sorry it wasn’t your thing. as for the lemons, i used the zest + a little juice + a little MORE. what can i say other than… i like lemons & making my own rules
thanks for reading…
No need to say sorry; I enjoy following your blog and like to try out new receipes……..and like yourself, I bend the rules (in all aspects of life); but when I try a new receipe I want to keep to the script…if its good, I start tweeking it next time around.
And Margie is spot on w/ regards to Hazan’s book…a must-have !