There’s a reason why my blog tag line is my experiments in cooking. Sometimes it’s just that, experimentation. This is one of the recipes I found via the internet, I don’t even remember where, that I thought I’d try. It turned out super moist but not nearly as flavorful as I had hoped. In part, I’m sure, because I modified the recipe slightly. I don’t have truffle bouillon or salt on hand nor actual truffle. Both of which the original recipe called for. In addition, I cheated slightly buy using garlic butter instead of plain butter and cut the amount of fresh garlic down (big mistake). And I have also realized that not all truffle oils are the same. I recently had to buy some as I had used up my supply. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the same brand that I had before so I bought a different brand. Not nearly as good. And a quick consult with my friend Google informed me that a lot of truffle oil isn’t made with truffles at all, instead they use chemicals to get the flavor. Yuck!

So long story short, I’m going to have to try this again with different ingredients. But it did turn out ok so I’m still going to post the recipe. Enjoy!

Roasted Garlic & Truffle Chicken

• 1 whole chicken, 4-6 lbs
• 1/4 cup garlic butter (recipe below)
• 1/2 bulb of garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1/2 lemon
• 4 sprigs of rosemary
• 4 Tbsp truffle oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• Salt & Pepper
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup chicken stock

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400°.

Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel, make sure to take the package out of the inside of the chicken (it’s the heart, gizzard, liver and neck). I put these in the freezer and when I have several I use them to make chicken stock. Place the chicken in a Dutch oven or roasting pan, breast side up. Tuck the wings underneath so they don’t burn. Take the rosemary, lemon, several of the smashed garlic cloves and put then in the chicken cavity. Tuck the rest of the garlic under the chicken skin. Rub the chicken all over with the garlic butter. Pour the truffle oil over the bird as well. Salt and pepper generously. Put the rest of the onion in the pan with the bird.

Bake, uncovered for 20 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 350° and bake for another hour. Baste the chicken half way through and then again when you remove it from the oven. You want the internal temp to be 165 at the thigh, make sure not by the bone though.

Remove the chicken and let it rest for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, remove the onion from the pan and return it to the stove. Skim off some of the grease from the butter and truffle oil. Add 1/4 cup of wine and the chicken stock. Heat on medium-high for about 20 minutes or until reduced by half; this will make a nice gravy. It you like it thick, add a tbsp. or so of flour or cornstarch.