Chicken Dauphinoise

Name: Chicken Dauphinoise
Total time: 100 min
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients: 2 large garlic cloves, left whole, peeled and lightly smashed; 2 sage stems; 1 bundle thyme (4-5 thyme stalks); 2 rosemary sprigs; 2.5 cups heavy whipping cream; 1 tablespoon Maldon salt; 1/2 teaspoon butter for the roasting pan; 1 whole chicken (about 4.75 pounds), spatchcocked through the breast; 1 tablespoon Maldon salt for the chicken; 1 teaspoon flavorful olive oil; 6 medium to large waxy potatoes (like Yukon Gold), peeled and sliced on a mandoline on a 1/8-1/4'' setting; 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; Rosemary leaves separated from 4 rosemary sprigs, divided

A French-inspired dish of spatchcocked chicken roasted over creamy potato layers, infused with herbs and aromatics.

Yield Serves 6

Prep 20 min

Cook 1 hr 20 min

Total 1 hr 40 min

Ingredients

13 items

2 large garlic cloves, left whole, peeled and lightly smashed
2 sage stems
1 bundle thyme (4-5 thyme stalks)
2 rosemary sprigs
2.5 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon Maldon salt
1/2 teaspoon butter for the roasting pan
1 whole chicken (about 4.75 pounds), spatchcocked through the breast
1 tablespoon Maldon salt for the chicken
1 teaspoon flavorful olive oil
6 medium to large waxy potatoes (like Yukon Gold), peeled and sliced on a mandoline on a 1/8-1/4'' setting
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Rosemary leaves separated from 4 rosemary sprigs, divided

Method

8 steps

Preheat your oven to 375° F convection.
Start by infusing heavy cream with the aromatics. Place the garlic, sage, thyme, and rosemary in a saucepan. Cover with heavy whipping cream and season with 1 tablespoon of Maldon salt. Bring just to a boil, then remove from the heat and set aside for 20 minutes for the cream to take on all those wonderful flavors.
Butter a roasting pan with butter and lay down the spatchcocked chicken, skin side up. Pat the chicken dry with paper towel and season with salt on both sides. Drizzle olive oil over the skin of the chicken to give the skin color as it roasts. Place in the preheated oven and cook for 15 minutes.
After the cream steeps for 20 minutes, strain the aromatics from the cream mixture. Slice the potatoes on a mandolin directly into the cream mixture.
Remove the chicken from the roasting pan and set aside temporarily. Now start layering the cream-coated potato slices in the roasting pan. An overlapping design is pretty but not necessary. Cream should come under the potatoes and not be covering it. Likely you will not have to pour any more cream in as it leaves room for the basting cream to go into the potatoes. Place the chicken on top of the potatoes and pour a small ladleful of the remaining cream mixture over the chicken. Dust the chicken with black pepper and dot with more rosemary leaves.
Reduce the oven temperature to 325° F. Place the pan in the oven and cook for 45 minutes to an hour. Baste the chicken every 15 minutes with more heavy whipping cream from your reserved cream. When the skin of the chicken is golden and crispy, remove the chicken and set aside to rest. Use a meat thermometer to read 165F into the deepest part of the breast.
Increase the oven temperature to 400° F. Sprinkle the surface of the potatoes with more rosemary leaves and return the potatoes to the oven for 20 minutes, or until the top is bubbling and a beautiful golden color from the cream and chicken fat.
Carve the chicken and serve together with the potatoes.

Notes

You should have about a cup of the cream mixture leftover to baste the chicken with during the cooking time. Don't fret if the cream tastes slightly too salty initially; the potatoes and cream will negate that and the end result is perfectly seasoned.