Milk Braised Chicken is so tender, it falls off of the bone! Oven roasted chicken is braised with milk to seal in the juices, making this a delicious weeknight dinner.
Thank you Milk Means More – United Dairy Industry of Michigan for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own.
Fall has officially arrived here on the 45th parallel. The unseasonably warm 70 degree days that have been replaced with the customary temperatures hovering in the 40’s-50’s. Early morning frost dusts the grass, and the tree branches are largely are now barren of leaves. Something about the plunging temperatures ignites a pyre of cravings for comforting dishes. The aroma of a roasting chicken envelopes those around a blanket of warm comfort as it wafts from the oven.
With the holidays swiftly approaching, my thoughts tend to swirl around meals that I would consider elaborate. If only it didn’t take more time to prepare them. I really have no problem spending a little extra time on the occasional date night dinner like Cajun Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, but most nights I am just not feeling it. Perhaps I’m a touch lazy, but most nights I want dinner to taste like I’ve spent a lot of time on it, without all of the work.
Milk braised chicken tastes as if it took hours of effort, but actually, it’s prepped for baking in 15 minutes.
Roasted chicken easily goes from succulent to dry in the oven. Therefore, I like to braise a whole, skin on, bone-in chicken to keep it juicy.
Braising is simply roasting meat in a liquid to help seal in the juices. Technically, true braising requires the meat to be covered at least halfway with the liquid so that it simmers as it roasts–as with Danish Roast Beef–thus creating a thin, spoon-able sauce to serve with the meat. For this application, I use less liquid because I’m less concerned with a spoon sauce than I am with achieving the most tender chicken as possible. The fat in the milk mingles with that of the chicken to lock in the juices as it cooks.
For minimal effort, the crisp-skinned Milk Braised Chicken is so flavorful and tender that it literally falls off the bone. Placing the chicken onto a serving platter to carve at the table adds dramatic flair to the presentation. It also fosters the illusion that you’ve spent hours toiling away in the kitchen. Only we need know that isn’t the case. I suggest keeping that little tidbit of information a secret, and using the extra time away from the kitchen to pamper yourself.
I’d like to say that I use the time not spent on dinner prep to give myself a swank mani-pedi so that I can carry the easy elegance theme of dinner through to my overall appearance upon serving it. In reality? I’m probably spending that time frantically folding mountains of clean laundry, and thanking God for the invention of the kitchen timer so that I don’t forget that I am cooking dinner in the first place. Just keepin’ it real, Friends!
Enjoy your milk braised chicken dinner!
Kirsten Kubert
Yields 6
Oven roasted chicken is braised in the oven with milk to seal in the juices, making Milk Braised Chicken so tender and juicy that it falls off the bone.
15 minPrep Time
1 hr, 30 Cook Time
1 hr, 45 Total Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 4 lb. whole roasting chicken
- 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 3/4 tsp. black pepper
- 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp. dried tarragon
- 2 Tbs. salted butter
- 1 Tbs. light olive oil
- 1 medium onion, peeled, root removed, and cut into wedges (1 C. total)
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 2 C. 2% milk (may substitute whole milk, but not skim)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Rinse the roasting chicken with cold water, and pat dry. (Be sure to check the neck and body cavities for a bag of giblets, and if present, remove and save for another use .) Combine the salt, pepper, thyme, and tarragon. Sprinkle the top and bottom of the chicken with the spice mixture, rubbing to adhere to the skin.
- Melt the butter in the bottom of a large, heavy gauge Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted and begins to froth, pour the olive oil into the pot. Once the oils are again hot, place the chicken, breast side down in the pot. Sear the chicken until the skin is a rich brown color. Insert a sturdy pair of kitchen tongs into the body cavity of the chicken, gripping tightly. Flip the chicken over to sear the bottom.
- Once the chicken has browned on both sides, turn off the stove top heat. Scatter the onion wedges and smashed garlic into the pot, around the chicken. Pour the milk over the chicken.
- Bake for 1 hour, 30 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken breast reads 175 degrees. While in the oven, brush the chicken with the milk in the pot every 20 minutes to baste. If at any time the milk completely evaporates while the chicken is cooking, an additional 1/2 cup of milk may be added.
- Transfer the chicken to a large cutting board, and let rest 10 minutes. After the rest period, a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken breast should read 180 degrees F before slicing to serve.
- Spoon the onions, garlic, and any remaining milk sauce into a bowl to serve with the chicken.
- Leftover chicken is excellent in homemade chicken pot pie .
Try these Chicken and Mango Quesadillas or a Chicken Pot Pie with the leftover Milk Braised Chicken! You’ll be glad that you did.
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