Catastrophe Kitchen | Slow-Roasted Chimichurri Chicken

Chimichurri, a bright and spicy vinegar and oil herb sauce, is traditionally ladled on tableside as a condiment. In this recipe, it’s used as both a marinade and a finishing sauce. As a marinade, it infuses the flavor of the herbs and garlic into an ultra-tender chicken, turning into a mellow, unctuous sauce. Spooning fresh chimichurri on as a garnish brightens the final plate with intensity and sharpness. It’s a one-two punch of flavor that really knocks it out of the park. The addition of potatoes and whole garlic in the pan make this an easy and rewarding one-dish meal.Although this takes about 3 1/2 hours from beginning to end, most of that time is oven time (about 3 hours). A food processor makes quick work of the initial preparations for a minimum of hands-on time and plenty of time to clean up, making it an ideal dinner party dish. (You can make this with a mortar and pestle and a knife, as well, it will just take longer). Make sure you pull the pan out of the oven a few times to toss the potatoes and baste the chicken in the delicious pan juices. Serve this with a salad, crusty bread for mopping up the sauce, and a fruity malbec or tempranillo. You will need:For the Chimichurri Sauce:1 shallot1 red jalapeño chile4 garlic cloves½ cup sherry vinegar (or red wine vinegar)1 tsp. kosher salt½ bunch Italian parsley4-5 sprigs fresh oregano¾ cup extra-virgin olive oilFor the chicken: 1 whole chicken, about 4lbs.1 ½ lbs yukon gold potatoes1 lemon2 heads garlic1 Tbsp. Diamond kosher salt1 tsp. fresh cracked black pepperSet your oven temperature to 300F, and put a rack in the lower middle portion of the oven.First things first: pull any giblets out of the chicken cavity, and pat the exterior dry with paper towels. Season the cavity and all sides of the chicken with salt, and sit on a rack while you prepare the chimichurri sauce.Peel the papery layers off of the shallot and garlic and add them to the bowl of your food processor. Cut off the top of the pepper and slice it lengthwise. Remove the seeds, then add the pepper to the food processor, as well. Process the garlic, onion, and pepper until they are finely minced. Pour the vinegar into the food processor bowl, rinsing the sides down into the bowl as you do. Strip the oregano leaves from the stems, and add the oregano and parsley to the food processor.Process just until finely chopped, not so long that it forms a paste. Scrape the herb mixture into whatever bowl you will store it in, and whisk in the olive oil and salt. (I put mine into a deli container and shook it, instead). Set the sauce aside.Cut the potatoes into quarters (or 1 ½” chunks if they’re really large). Set aside in a bowl.Zest the lemon, then halve it. Set the zest aside. Halve the garlic heads laterally across the head (with the top on one half and the bottom on the other), leaving the papers intact if possible. Mine fell all apart, but I had garden garlic, so you might have better luck keeping them together.Pat the chicken one more time with paper towels. Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the lemon halves and two halves of garlic. Set the other halved garlic head cut sides down in the middle of a large oven-safe pan. Set the stuffed chicken breast-side up on top of the garlic.Slide your hand underneath the chicken skin, detaching it slightly from the breast. Give your chimichurri another whisk or shake and add a few tablespoons of the sauce under the skin of the chicken, smoothing it toward the head of the bird with your hands on the exterior of the skin. Ladle a few more tablespoons of the chimichurri over the chicken, making sure to get the legs and wings, too. Add a few tablespoons of the chimichurri to the bowl with the potatoes and toss them. Nestle the potatoes around the chicken in the pan. Sprinkle the entire pan with salt and pepper. Pop the pan into the oven and set a timer for 2 ½ hours. Your chicken may take 3 hours, but you’ll want to check it around 2 ½ hours just in case your oven runs hot. Add about a tablespoon of the lemon zest (or more, to taste) to the remaining chimichurri sauce, then put it in the fridge. Baste the chicken with pan juices and flip the potatoes at least once every hour, or up to 5 times. At the 2 ½ hour mark, check your chicken. I like to use a meat thermometer: pierce the thickest part of the thigh and the thickest part of the breast; each should read at least 165F. If you don’t have a thermometer, pull on the leg bone. It should be very loose when the chicken is done (it might even pull right out, like mine did). If it’s not quite ready, return it to the oven for 30 minutes and check it again, pulling the pan out of the oven when it is done.This part is the HARDEST PART, because you’ve been smelling this delicious meal for three hours now, and it looks AMAZING– but you need to let the chicken rest for 30 minutes, right in the pan. This time, I tore into half of it immediately because I thought I just couldn’t wait, and the meat I had right when the chicken came out was significantly less juicy and perfect than the meat that I had after the chicken rested. It is VERY IMPORTANT! Do not skip a rest. Don’t worry! It will still be warm, it will also be way tastier.When the chicken is fully rested, squeeze the garlic cloves out into the pan, cut or pull the chicken apart into serving sizes, and serve with the potatoes, drizzling all over with the juices and garlic. Serve with the reserved, chilled chimichurri sauce, which can be drizzled over the potatoes and chicken at the table.I know, this is so delicious. And so easy! Yes, instagram it. Accept the praise lavished on you by your friends and family (or your cat, if that’s your dinner companion). You’re welcome!