Whole30 Heroine Chicken

Heroine Chicken. My love and of cooking and family and knowing the importance of sitting around a table with people I love and sharing food is not only one of the greatest pleasures but necessary for my soul. So, when my family’s much loved dish caught the eye of the editor of a start up on-line magazine, he asked me to contribute weekly. Well, I didn’t know how to write, but I did speak the language of food. Heroine Chicken went viral and thus began my food blogging life. My little Instagram account has not been the same since!

“Heroin chicken” as it was originally called, named by a friend, who was “addicted” to it now has an “E” in the name, but the recipe hasn’t changed, it’s still sublime! The trick is to marinate 48 hours before roasting. Now, you may see this recipe and say “oh, lemon chicken”, but there is something about the combination of ingredients, marinade and time that is a little piece of magic that I am not going to question.

Heroine chicken

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1 butterflied chicken
2 tbsp kosher salt
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp peppercorns, crushed into good-sized pieces
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
A couple of handfuls of chopped flat-leaf parsley

Butterfly the chicken or have the butcher do it for you. Salt the chicken well with kosher salt – make sure every crevice is covered

In a bowl mix lemon, peppercorn, olive oil and garlic. (Important: make sure the peppercorns are crushed into large pieces.)

Place the chicken in a 24-40 cup container with lid. Make sure that the container is deep enough (I use a 16″ ish x 10″ ish x 5″ish deep) This recipe is all about the marinade so it’s important that the container fits the chicken or you will lose marinade.

Pour half of the marinade evenly over the bird. Sprinkle with half of the parsley, about a handful. Flip the chicken over and evenly cover the other side of the chicken with the rest of the marinade. Then sprinkle the remaining parsley. Marinate for 48 hours.

When the chicken is done marinating, wipe off the excess marinade and parsley. Then, roast the chicken skin side up in a 375°F oven for about 45 minutes. As quickly as you can, baste with the chicken fat, close the oven and bake for another 15 minutes.

If the chicken is not brown enough, baste again, turn up to 425° and bake for 5 more minutes. If the wing tips are getting too brown, cover them up with foil.

Teri’s short cut: I recommend making some extra wings and thighs for leftover lunch to-go tomorrow. If you want to do more than 4 wings and thighs, just double the marinade. Make sure that you put them in a large enough container so that everything is covered with the marinade.