Mmm Mmm Monday: Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

A garlic enthusiast, Kevin made Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic yesterday.  He actually only put in 20 cloves of garlic.  Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 whole chicken
• 40 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the Dutch oven and brown on all sides in the butter and oil, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the chicken to a cutting board.
3. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of liquid from the pan; stir the garlic cloves into the reserved liquid. Return the chicken to the pan; sprinkle the water, lemon juice, salt, thyme, and black pepper over the chicken; cover tightly.
4. Bake the chicken in the preheated oven until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 90 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh should read 180 degrees F (82 degrees C). Remove the chicken from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area for 10 minutes before slicing.

He was very excited to use his new-to-him cast iron Dutch oven that I won on ebay for him for Valentine's Day.  It came last week and I was so pleased with its condition and excited about it that I couldn't wait to give it to him.  He, in turn, couldn't wait to use it.  We had just picked up some chicken leg quarters (at the local ShopRite's 22nd anniversary sale for 22 cents/lb.!) and he used four leg quarters in the above recipe.

Here's a picture of some leftover chicken.  I did not get any action shots of the Dutch oven for this recipe, but I did make a carrot soup in it, have pictures of it there and will post them when I post that recipe.