I really like this recipe by Gwyneth Paltrow from her cookbook– My Father’s Daughter. This is slow-cooking easy, but in the oven– not in a crock pot. The chicken reaches the end result of being very satisfying, tender, with scrumptious roasted flavor all of its own.
I had to prepare for a trip, including the laundry and housework prior to leaving– like any and every mom and wife. Instead of also having to tend to dinner for the day, the supposed day before my departure, I cooked this from day hours into evening so my husband would have it to dine on the first night I would be away. All he had to do, according to my plan, was heat it up in the microwave whenever he got home from work; not a TV dinner, not a nicely prepared microwave dinner, but a real home-cooked meal waiting for him even while I would be away from the house the entire day due to travel. Whatever made it convenient for him, less worry for myself, the better. It only took a matter of a few minutes to get it ready for the oven, let it do its own cooking while I cleaned, packed and got ready for my trip.
Ten-Hour Chicken ~
~ adapted from Gwyneth Paltrow (My Father’s Daughter) ~
Prepare oven temp to 200 degrees F.
Place chicken (3-4 pounds) in a rectangular roasting dish breast side down after it has been washed and dried.
Squeeze both halves of 1 lemon over both sides of the chicken. Generously sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper (all over the sides, front and back, inside and out). Tuck 1/2 bunch of fresh thyme and squeezed lemon halves and 3-4 garlic cloves into the cavity. Place several more garlic cloves on the sides of the pan. Wrap the dish tightly with aluminum foil and place it in the oven for 9 1/2 hours.
Take the chicken out of the oven and boost the temp up to 400. Unwrap the dish and carefully flip the chicken over if it does not fall apart, breast side up this time. Give it some more salt and pepper. Keep aluminum foil off and finish cooking for 15-20 minutes or until nicely browned. Let the chicken cool, then carve with its juices.
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