Milk Chicken Is the Best Chicken Recipe We've Ever Tried

Raise your hand if you’re tired of boring baked chicken. Us, too. Luckily, we discovered a new technique for cooking the most flavorful, tender, melt-in-your-mouth bird. Ready for the secret ingredient? 

It’s milk.

We first learned about this recipe from Jamie Oliver (and from subsequent bloggers freaking out over it), and we’ve been making it ever since. Here’s the deal.

What you need: For a three-pound bird, you’ll need a Dutch oven, 2 cups of whole milk, 1 stick of butter, 6 garlic cloves, the zest of 2 lemons, 1 cinnamon stick and a handful of sage, salt and pepper. You can also use the same technique to braise chicken thighs on the stovetop. Just cut your ingredients in half. 

What you do: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and season the chicken with salt and pepper. Melt the butter in a dutch oven until bubbling, then add the chicken and let it cook until crisp and golden. Transfer the chicken to a plate to discard of the leftover butter. Then put the chicken back in the pot and add the rest of the ingredients. Cover with a lid and cook the chicken for one and a half hours, uncovering the pan after 45 minutes and basting the bird occasionally. Remove the chicken from the pot and transfer onto a platter, then spoon the sauce all over.

The elephant in the room: Does it taste milky? Nope. It simply tenderizes the meat, thanks to the natural sugars present. The lemon zest cuts the milk sauce so the result is refreshing and light rather than overbearing and creamy. Now, go forth and make your own milk chicken.