Chicken in Milk

CookBook Challenge - Week 39

I am contemplating whether to put this pic or not.. what do you think?

I took this recipe from Jamie Oliver. I watched this on some channels awhile ago. So, since the week 39 (yes, I know. I am late) themed for Cook Book Challenge was TV Chef, I thought I may give this a try. I tried to search the recipe online and found it. However, it is kinda different from the one on TV. So, I thought I should adopt the best of both side. I did change some of the steps here to suit the utensils and equipment I have and of course my taste. The recipe calls for whole chicken but I decided to butterly the chicken instead in order to avoid soggy bottom and to get more crispy surface and since I could not get any sage leaves I substitute with mix dried herbs. I added some lemon juice too.

Here's the link to the original recipe by Jamie Oliver.

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken (about 1.5kg)
• Sea salt / Salt
• Ground black pepper
• 115g or half a pack of butter
• vegetable oil or olive oil
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 565ml milk
• Zest of 2 lemons
• 1 bulb garlic (only remove the papery skin and leave the remaining skin on)
• a quarter of lemon juice

Methods:

1. First of all, preheat oven at 190 degree celcius.
2. Butterfly the chicken. For instruction please read below.
3. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper.
4. Fry chicken in butter and little of vegetable oil or olive oil. Skin side down first. Turning the chicken to get even colour all over, until golden. 
5. Remove from heat, put the chicken on a plate and throw away butter and oil in the pan. 
6. Put back the chicken in the pan (skin side up) and return to heat. Add remaining ingredients; cinnamon stick, dried herbs, milk, lemon zest and garlic. Bring to boil, remember to scrap the sticky goodness at the bottom of the pan, then transfer to baking dish still skin side up, cover with wet baking/wax paper and pop into preheated oven.Of course, you can save trouble of tranferring to baking dish if you have pot/pan which is oven proof.
7. Cover and cook for 45- 60 minutes. Then, remove the cover, add in lemon juice and cook for further 15 minutes until the sauce thicken. 

Butterfly, season and fry

HOW TO BUTTERFLY CHICKEN

1. Place chicken on chopping board, breast side down.
2. Remove backbone using scissors. Use the tail of the chicken as handle to cut one side of the back then another side of the back. Stay as close to the back bone as you can.
3. Open up the chicken and lay it flat.
4. Slice through the thin membrane covering the keel bone or also known as breast bone. 
5. Place finger underneath the keel bone to remove bone. Remove cartilage that holding the bone. 

Watch this Video for demostration.

TIPS:

• Why wet baking/wax paper? Keep the chicken crispy and golden without drying out.
• Remember to baste the chicken with cooking juice every now and then.