Jamie Oliver’s Chicken in Milk Recipe (2024)

I use a standard sized Dutch oven for this dish and don't bother dumping out the butter. The first time I made this dish we were living overseas where we only had shelf stable milk. The dish was fantastic...silky, creamy, bright. When we came back to the states I tried the recipe with different milks, 1%, 2%, and whole and I couldn't duplicate the texture. So I tried a box of shelf stable milk (parmalat). Bingo, the texture was back! It also means that I can make this dish anytime.

I tried this recipe enthusiastically when it began making the rounds. I followed instructions precisely and had the worst possible outcome--a bitter, acrid mess that had to be tossed out immediately. Any ideas?

Before I embark on this, I need to know if the pot in the picture is the one you used to cook this recipe. It does not fit my concept of a pot that would fit the chicken snugly.

I watched the video Kathleen mentioned as I speak German. He cuts the lemons into thick slices and stuffs them into the cavity with the sage stalks. Says this is important for the overall flavour. He uses about 8 oz butter to brown on a high heat and then pours it all off as it's black at that stage-he stresses doing this well as it'll taste awful otherwise. He puts about 4 oz sliced butter back in. Says the parchment is good for retaining moisture and lets it brown too and I agree.

I have made this many times. I always uncover the LAST half of the cooking time and I put the chicken breast DOWN, not up. Comes out incredible. Do not skimp on the salt and pepper. No sage most of the time, so I have substituted thyme and it works too. I have also make this recipe with skin-on thighs and the main difference is cutting down the cooking time; though I cooked them too long one time and they were to die for tender and just a little on the crunchy side on the top. Just do it.

I've been making this dish for a few years. What I love about it is how these typical ingredients combine to make an unusually delicious dish. The lemon rind cooked in the milk actually reminds me of a lemongrass flavor. To answer the other reader questions-- yes the pot in the picture is the right size for a whole chicken. You cook this dish uncovered, but You can also cook this covered-- the chicken will be moister but the skin will be softer too-- either way it's delicious.

I found a video of Jamie cooking this--unfortunately it's in German--and he does a couple things differently. He stuffs the cavity with peeled lemons and sage stems and then uses wet parchment as a cover. The chicken looks succulent, but the skin does seem crisp in spots. Maybe it's just from the searing at the beginning? BTW, I don't speak German, but the kid uses a LOT of butter and loves to talk about it. :)
https://youtu.be/MqioC0Z4BHs

While it looks nice to have the browned breast up and this allows the skin over the breast to crisp, would it be better to roast it with the breast down in the milk? Would this help keep the breast meat moist? Maybe roast it most the way with the breast down then flip (a bit challenging, perhaps) the bird breast up for the final 15-20 minutes to let the skin crisp?

The grand children were put off by the look of curdled milk. So I used my immerton blender to smooth out the sauce to a silken deliciousness. Thanks to the cook who wrote in to use shelf stable milk. Makes this recipie.

Are the lemon strips added to the pot or is it the 2 lemons?

If you're so fastidious that you're bothered by the sight of a garlic skin on your plate, you really shouldn't be frequenting this sort of cooking forum.

That's an odd-looking photo stylist's concept. Seems to me that there is an earthenware pot inside a metal pot. Anybody else?

Tonight, I'm going to try a veriation of this recipe. I will be using a couple of chicken leg quarters. I will sub margerine rather than the olive oil, use an italian seasoning blend and basil, rather than sage, large amounts of garlic powder added at the last, and lemon pepper seasoning rather than adding lemon, because the acidity of lemon juice can cause the milk to break and curdle but lemon seasoning is less apt to create that effect. The way I do it is pretty close to a thick country milk.

P.s. I simmered this chicken in milk dish on the stove and covered and vented. It worked just as well as oven-roasting and the sauce remained white rather than going all icky and beige.

Very moist and good flavor. I followed one of the suggestions below and kept it covered in the pot for the first half of cooking, and unfortunately the sauce didn't reduce enough. Tasty nonetheless.

I made this per the instructions and it was so gross. Curds in the sauce reminded me of spoiled milk. The texture was awful. Just make regular lemon garlic chicken. Juicy it was not.

Can I substitute heavy cream for the milk, for folks adhering to Atkins (cream's allowed, but not milk:too many carbs.) diet?

If you don’t like the curds from the milk, whip the milk sauce until smooth. Learned that from roasting pork in milk which is wonderful as well

Has anyone made this with parts or boneless skinless? Any suggestions?

This is absolutely delicious! Such depth of flavor. And the chicken was so moist-even the breast meat. I peeled my garlic and used more-12 - 14 cloves. After an hour in the oven I added peeled baby potatoes and put the lid on for the remaining 30 minutes. We will be making this again for sure!

This was fantastic! Followed recipe exactly and could not have been happier with the outcome, big raves from the whole family. This is a keeper for sure!

Does anyone know if Lactaid is a good sub for Parmalat. I can't find the latter around here and on amazon it costs $35

This dish was a disappointment. I thought the “ropy” or curdled sauce, which was way too lemony, was very off-putting!

Made this for Easter as we were only a few and It was absolutely fantastic. The flavors permeate the entire chicken, not just the skin. It was moist, the legs had crisp skin, the garlic cloves provide a wonderful spread for crusty bread that should also sop up any extra sauce. I will definitely make this again.

basically the easiest and most delicious whole chicken recipe. I have made it using different herbs, always a ton of garlic and no one bothers saying a word at dinner, 2 year old and 5 year old included; we’re all too busy savoring every bite.

Delicious & easy! Made 6 drumsticks & 3 thighs. Watched a video ( in German) of JO making this dish-- pretty much followed recipe. Fried batches of chicken in mixture of butter and olive oil, dumped oil and added about 2 tablespoons of butter to saute cinnamon stick & about 15 cloves of garlic. Then added other ingredients as instructed, but used Parmalat (shelf-stable milk), as suggested by a comment on another website. No curdling. Covered with wet parchment paper. No cover.

This is a crowd pleaser among my family & friends! We’ve come up with a couple of useful substitutions:Coconut oil and coconut milk for those who are sensitive to lactose.Small, young turkey breast with ribs. Richer flavor and more meat for other uses (enchiladas happen a lot around here).Rosemary works if you’re out of sage, too.