Roasted chicken is such a great food to have on hand.  First, it’s simply wonderful for dinner.  But for me, it’s the leftovers!  You can do so much with them.

I personally find rotisserie chickens from the grocery store too greasy.  I’m afraid they also plump those babies up with a sodium solution.  No thank you.

Whole chickens are inexpensive so why not cook your own?  Especially when it’s so easy.

Jamie Oliver’s Roasted Chicken in Milk

Awhile back I came across Jamie Oliver’s Roasted Chicken in Milk recipe and thought I would give it a try.   Most people would think that sounds odd but I remember my cousin marinated chicken in milk before grilling it and it was so moist.  So I knew the combination of milk and chicken would be worth trying.

My adapted version of Jamie’s recipe.

Ingredients

Whole Chicken

Lite Olive Oil

3 Cups Milk (I used 2%)

2 Large Lemons or 3 Small

1-2 Cinnamon Sticks (approximately 2-3″ long)

10 Small or 6 Large Garlic Cloves with Skin On

Handful of Fresh Sage Leaves

Salt & Pepper

Step 1:  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Remove the giblet bag from inside chicken.   Wash chicken and pat dry.  Season with salt and pepper.  Heat lite olive oil in dutch oven.  Brown chicken on both sides.

Step 2:  While chicken is browning, zest lemons.  Break garlic cloves apart.  The recipe calls for 10 cloves.  My cloves were extra-large so I only used 6.  Leave the skin on the cloves (a great shortcut!).

Step 3:  Remove chicken from pan and pour out any remaining oil.  Do not remove the bits and pieces of chicken in pan.  Keep them for added flavor.

Add 3 cups milk, lemon zest, garlic cloves, sage leaves and cinnamon sticks to pot.

Add browned chicken to pot with milk and other ingredients

Step 4:  Cook uncovered in 375 degree oven for 90 minutes.  The recipe calls for you to baste the chicken every 20 minutes with milk.  I’ll be honest, I was working on my computer and completely forgot to do this and it came out just fine.

Test chicken to make sure it is fully cooked with meat thermometer.  Chicken should be 165 degrees with golden brown skin.

When I removed mine from the pan, the wings fell off the chicken.  A great sign that the chicken was not only done but tender!

If you want to carve the chicken, let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.  Otherwise, just pull the meat off the bones once its cool enough to handle and reserve the meat for other dishes.

The day I made this we had last-minute plans to go out to dinner.  I removed the meat from the bones and stored it in a ziplock bag.

The chicken has made great sandwiches for lunch (so much healthier than buying cold cuts).  I love having extra roast chicken for salads, chicken soup, chicken chili and casseroles.  One of my favorites though is chicken salad.

Chicken Salad

You can use this chicken to make Marshall Fields Famous Chicken Salad which I featured on the blog last week.

Another recipe for chicken salad is one that I have made for years.  It’s my personal recipe and I don’t have measurements.  It all depends on how much you want to make.  It’s an easy recipe to eyeball.

Chopped Chicken

Chopped Onion

Chopped Celery

Red Grapes, halved

Toasted Slivered Almonds

Helman’s Mayonnaise

Salt & Pepper

I sometimes substitute a chopped apple (skin removed) for the grapes.

I have also used equal parts mayo with Greek yogurt to make it a little healthier.

 

Thanks for stopping by.