This is Jamie Oliver’s Chicken in Milk recipe which I first sighted on thekitchn.com. Once I saw that lovely bird in the dutch oven I knew I needed to try it out. The bird is browned in a little butter and olive oil until golden then the rest of the ingredients are added prior to braising.
I had read the reviews and most folks were pretty grossed out that the sauce would be curdled. I had wondered what it would be like if I had added a cup of rice to the sauce. What I did was after browning the bird in only 1 T. butter and 1 T. olive oil, I removed it to a plate and then browned a cup of jasmine rice.
I then made a well in the rice, topped it with the chicken, added the lemon zest, salt and pepper, sage, cinnamon stick, and garlic cloves with the skin still on. Then I poured the milk over all of it. Covered and braised for 90 minutes at 375 degrees.
This was such a beautiful looking bird before baking that I could not wait for the results.
After removing the chicken I had the most wonderful rice to spoon from the pot. It was cooked perfectly but look at all the crispy parts, my favorite.
I followed Jamie’s directions except I did cover it the entire cooking time as I hate dry birds. I don’t know if it was the best braised chicken I ever had but it is in my top five. With a hint of cinnamon and lemon the flavor it was wonderful.
The rice was the best and I was so glad to have added it. Next time I will double the rice and milk!
The garlic squeezed easily from its skins and spread like butter on fresh baguette slices.
This meal is a definite keeper. Give it a try.
Chicken in Milk- adapted from Jamie Oliver
4 pound organic chicken
1 T. olive oil
1 T. butter
Kosher salt
fresh cracked black pepper
1 cup rice
10 fresh sage leaves
zest of 2 lemons
10 garlic cloves still in their skins
1 cinnamon stick
2 cups milk
In a large Dutch oven, brown the chicken that has been seasoned generously with salt and pepper in butter and olive oil. Remove to plate. Pour out excess fat (I forgot to do this and my rice was a tad greasy) and then brown rice, stirring occasionally. Make a well in the rice and place chicken in the well. Sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper. Add the remaining ingredients and cover and braise 90 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove chicken from the bones and serve on platter with rice. Pull out garlic cloves and use to spread on fresh bread slices. Serves 5-6. Makes about 3 cups of rice.
Note- I think I will try to braise it at 350 degrees next time as it was a wee bit over cooked. I don’t like it to completely fall off the bone, ya know what I mean?
Robin Sue
20 Comments
This looks really good! We’ll have to give it a try. At our house if we are going to do a chicken we only add salt, pepper and a couple of herbs. This would be a nice change!
I’ve seen pork in milk recipes and have been a little afraid to make them because of the curdle factor. I’m not a big dairy fan, so I think that’s why I get a little nervous. This sure looks good though!
Wow, milk. Really? Well, you make it look doable and tasty. I think I will give it a try.
This is a good alternative to the chicken with matzoh meal I was planning on making later this week. Without the rice of course.
Wow, it looks delicious! Very, very nice!
The color on the chicken turned out well.
i spotted this too, and thought it sounded great. glad to know it’s as good as i thought! and hey–there’s cinnamon!
Interesting – I hadn’t heard of this before. The chicken looks great and the rice looks even better
You are so brave to add the rice! I am always afraid of undercooking rice in recipes like this. It all looks fantastic though, and I think I will try it with the rice added.
Never imagine chicken in milk…very interesting. I am sure that the rice as you stated taste great.
This Jamie Oliver recipe is one of my favorites. I’ve made it so many times, I can’t remember how many. Adding the rice is a great idea.
I’m trying to use my dutch oven more. Thanks for the idea!
I HAVE to remember this one! I don’t roast a whole chicken much. Mostly as we all prefer white meat and I feel guilty not using it all. And I just got a dutch oven at Christmas!
Maybe if you took the top off at the end, the skin would be crispier?
It does look like a keeper though! I’ll try it the next time I buy whole chickens.
Yes, yes, yes. I make a Nigella recipe that calls for marinating chicken in buttermilk. Delish!
This looks like a fabulous dish! I love the idea of adding the rice in there.
This chicken looks fabulous! I really need to invest in a Dutch oven. And I just love that you added rice. The crispy parts would be my favorite part, too!! How delicious!
It looks and sounds great! I used to make a recipe that I loved where the chicken on top seasoned the rice below. This one is going on the “must try” list.
Now that I am trying to eat more dairy free, maybe coconut milk would do the trick. Thank you!
Shirley
My husband, who loves Jamie (“It’s like a crouton wif ah-i-tude!”) Oliver, made this one night. The chicken looked good, but I was dismayed by the odd curdles and the flavor just didn’t go over well with either of us. We do not plan on making again.
Great call with adding the rice. So you’re supposed to curdle the milk? Sounds kinda weird.
Just made this last night at it turned out great. Fantastic recipe.