pat's Recipe

Garlic Chicken Italiano

Category: Poultry

2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 heads garlic
1 fresh 3 to 3 1/2 lb roasting chicken
1 lemon, halved
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups water

Combine olive oil, salt and pepper. Separate the garlic into cloves and peel. Mince 4 cloves and stir into olive oil. Brush chicken with the oil mixture.
Squeeze lemon juice over chicken. Pull neck skin to back and faster with a skewer. If a band of skin crosses the tail, tuck drumsticks under the band. If there's no band, tie drumsticks to tail. Twist wing tips under the back.
Place bird, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Pour wine and the water into pan. Add remaining garlic cloves.
Roast the chicken in a 400 degrees F oven for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours or till thoroughly cooked and a meat thermometer inserted into the inside of a thigh muscle registers 185 degrees F.
Remove the chicken from oven and cover with foil. Let stand for 5-10 minutes. Remove garlic from juices using a slotted spoon. Skim fat from pan juices. Carve chicken. Pour some of the pan juices over the chicken. Serve garlic cloves with chicken. Pass remaining juices.
makes 4 servings