This is the way a chicken looks before I bury it. I could have called this succotash chicken, given that the principle ingredients other than the bird are ... wait for it ... lima beans and corn. I got a peculiar itch about a week ago. It was to cook a chicken in a fashion I had never done, never heard of, and never will I be able to sort out where this idea came from. One name for it could be smothered chicken. After all, it gets buried in a whole bunch of stuff. Let's get down to it.
Spatchcock the chicken (which is to say remove the backbone which you WILL save for stock.) Cut 1/2 a large onion into half moons. Get a 1 lb. package of lima beans out of the freezer. Get a 1 lb. package of corn out of the freezer. Get some bacon out of the fridge. Oh, get a chicken. For the first time in modern history I did not brine the bird. Get out your onion powder, garlic powder, dried tarragon, salt and pepper. That's everything you need. Preheat your oven to 275 degrees. Use a Dutch oven or other heavy oven-proof pot. Drop half of the onions in the bottom. Add some of each of your seasonings. Drop about half of the limas on that - season again. Same with the corn - season again. Lay 4 slices of bacon over the top of this stuff. Put the chicken on top, skin side up. Repeat the layers as before except start with 4 more slices of bacon. Then everything else. Put the pot, covered, in the oven for 3 hours. There you have it.
Given that limas and corn are somewhat starchy, you can consider this a one-pot meal. On the other hand, I have nothing against serving a salad alongside.
Your title here intrigued me... love the read and these legs look very tasty... although I am allergic to onions and would smoother in garlic, I know these have to taste good with all the flavor on top!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds great, Stephen. Re: the oil. It won't work under the broiler. The chicken actually poaches in the oil. It would cook under the broiler and dry out. Have a good afternoon. Blessings...Mary
ReplyDeleteWHAT?!?!?! You didn't brine your bird?? That's it folks, the world is officially coming to an end, Stephen didn't brine.
ReplyDeleteAll kidding aside, how did the chicken turn out? It sure looks delicious! I love the idea of a 1 pot meal and I agree, with the starch in the beans & corn you don't need much else. Other than a fork to get it into my mouth of course :)
Oh glory! This looks lovely! I imagine it must have been so very succulent.
ReplyDeleteAs a kid I hated lima beans but loved succotash. I was a weird kid.
ReplyDeleteI imagine the veggies on the bottom tasted the best with all of the rendered tastiness basting them. Nice job.
So I'm not one for lima beans... but this sounds so good I would give them one more try!!!
ReplyDeleteThis looks delicious, Stephen! What a beautiful chicken dish, and I bet it tasted amazing. Thanks for sharing.
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