To say that this is one of the best roast chickens I have ever had in my life is a big call, I know. That’s how good this is. When you read the recipe, you’ll probably be as dubious as I was. “Lemon and milk? Surely that will curdle. And a cinnamon stick? This just sounds weird.” I then took to Google out of curiosity to see if others had tried it. To my surprise, there were many and they raved about it! Quite a few even declared this to be the best chicken they’ve ever had. I can’t say that with my hand on my heart (it’s up against Southern Fried Chicken, Korean Chicken, Karaage….to name a few!), however, there is no doubt that this is one of the best chickens I have ever had. Possibly the best roast chicken I have ever had. And it is so much easier than traditional roast chicken. Virtually foolproof. Insanely juicy, flavour infused chicken every single time.
What It Tastes Like
The chicken is baked for 1.5 hours in the braising liquid so it is really tender. Not “fall apart” tender, but it’s not a roast for carving. It’s more for tearing bits off. Because it is baked uncovered for most of the time, the skin comes out lovely and crispy on top. The braising liquid, which reduces down to a sauce, is truly incredible. It infuses into the chicken and reduces down into what I call “liquid gold”. There’s a hint of cinnamon fragrance, garlic, subtle lemon freshness and the muskiness of sage, all mixed through the chicken juice. The garlic is a treat in itself. Cooked until soft, I pop them straight out the skin straight into my mouth. If there are any leftover, I spread it onto toast – best treat ever! I was convinced the milk and lemon would end up as a curdled mess, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. The milk dissolves into little bits of curd which might look a bit odd at first glance but when you take a bite, it’s almost like little tiny bits of bocconcini or buffalo mozarrella cheese. I wanted more of it! In conclusion, I’m pretty certain that this is going to be my “go to” recipe when I have whole chickens to cook. It is ridiculously easy to make, with the hardest part being the browning of the chicken (I’ve provided a few tips that I picked up when I was doing it). So without further ado, here’s the recipe!
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