Braised Garlic Chicken

I have come across this recipe a few times on several blogs and upon reading the ingredients knew that I would be cooking this dish especially due to my love of garlic and this recipe uses a lot. Four whole heads of garlic might sound excessive, but as it cooks the garlic mellows and thickens, adding depth of flavour to the pan juices that are served over the chicken.

While I can say that I didn't dislike this dish I wasn't overly impressed with both it's looks and the flavour. Needless to say it was edible but I believe I choose to cook from a slow cooker recipe was the incorrect move. Most of the other versions of this recipe have been down either on the stove top or in an oven. Oh well this just leaves room for improvement, right?

Speaking of other versions, the first time I even read a recipe for this dish, and that recipe was Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic, I must say it definitely caught my attention, was written almost immediately on my "to cook list" and this version will be the recipe that I will be attempting next time. It's on a magnificent blog, For The Love of Cooking. Please take the time to pop over and visit Pam, the blog's host. Not only is the recipe and the post much nicer, but Pam's photographs actually do the dish some justice unlike mine below....

Braised Garlic Chicken

(recipe adapted from Essentials of Slow Cooking)

Serves: 8

8 chicken chops (bone in thigh fillets) trimmed of excess skin and fat

salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons canola oil

4 heads of garlic

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper. In a large frying pan over medium high heat warm the oil. Working in batches if necessary, add the chicken and cook, turning frequently, until well browned, 7 - 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoon of the fat in the pan. Add the garlic cloves and saute over medium high heat until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Pour in the wine and deglaze the pan, stirring and scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

Transfer the chicken to a slow cooker. Sprinkle with the thyme and add the galic mixture. Cover and cook until the chicken is tender and opaque throughout, approx 3 hours on the low setting.

Transfer the chicken to a platter and cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Set a fine mesh sieve over a saucepan and strain the pan juices. Reserve a few whole cloves for presentation. Press on the garlic cloves to extract as much liquid and pulp as possible. Bring to a simmer over a medium high heat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer the chicken to a warmed platter and top with the sauce. Serve at once.