Home >Recipes >Chicken on the Cocorico with Roasted Garlic Butter

Serves: 4

• For the Chicken on a Metal Cocorico:

• One 3 1/2 to 4 lb whole chicken
• 1 tsp NapaStyle Roasted Garlic Rub
• 1 piece (about two ozs) roasted garlic butter
• gray sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and cut into eight wedges each
• 1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped

• For the Roasted Garlic Butter:

• 1/2 lb unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2 tsp NapaStyle Roasted Garlic Rub
• 2 tbsp Roasted Garlic Paste

• For the Roasted Garlic Paste:

• 1 lb whole garlic heads
• 1/2 cup pure olive oil
• gray salt and freshly ground pepper

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 2 hours

For the Chicken on a Metal Cocorico: Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rinse the chicken under cold water then pat dry with paper towels. Season the inside of the chicken with the roasted garlic rub. Gently pull the skin away from the meat at both sides of the breasts and the thighs. The easiest way to do this is to slide two fingers under the skin so it does not tear while doing this. Remove the foil then cut the butter into eight even slices. Carefully slide one under the skin at both thighs then two into the breasts on both sides. Season the outside of the chicken with some gray sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the chicken on the cocorico with the legs facing up. Place the cocorico in the oven and roast for fifteen minutes. In the meantime, place the potatoes in a two-quart saucepan and add enough cold water to cover them by an inch. Add a tbsp of salt to the water. On high heat bring the water to a boil. Strain the potatoes and reserve. After the first fifteen minutes the chicken is in the oven, adjust the heat to 350°F. Carefully remove the cocorico from the oven. Place the remaining butter in the bottom of the roaster and when it melts, add the potatoes in a single layer around the chicken. Gently toss the potatoes in the melted butter and season with a pinch of gray sea salt. Return the cocorico to the oven and continue to cook for another 45 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 150°F. Baste the chicken every fifteen minutes or so with the juices in the dish. The chicken will continue to cook on the cocorico when it is removed from the oven and rests. This is called “carryover” and will both bring the chicken to safe serving temperature and help it to be juicy when carved.

Let the chicken rest on the cocorico for ten minutes before transferring to a cutting board. Carve into serving pieces to be plated or arranged on a serving platter. With a slotted spoon add the potatoes along side the chicken. Drizzle a little of the cooking juices on the chicken and top the potatoes with the parsley.

For the Roasted Garlic Butter: In a small mixing bowl stir the butter to make it smooth. Add the garlic paste and garlic rub then mix until all is evenly blended. On a 12-inch by 12-inch piece of aluminum foil make a log of butter close to one side. Leave about an inch and half of space on either side of the butter. Enclose in foil and twist the ends to make a sealed log, like a Tootsie Roll. Refrigerate for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 6 months.

For the Roasted Garlic Paste: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Peel the outermost layers of skin off the heads of garlic. Cut off the top one-third of the heads to open the cloves. Save the small pieces of garlic for another use. Put the heads, cut sides up, in a small baking dish and pour the olive oil over them. Season with salt and pepper. Cover tightly, place in the oven, and roast until about three-fourths cooked, about 45 minutes. Uncover and return to the oven until the cloves begin to pop out of their skins and brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool.

When cool enough to handle easily, squeeze the roasted garlic into a small bowl. Press against the skins very well to get out all the sweet roasted garlic you can. Add the oil from the baking dish and mix well until a paste forms. Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator, for up to 1 week.