Found on Reddit. It's not a hot-oven type roasted chicken but a long slow-roast fall-apart chicken. Original recipe is on the Bon Appetit website (click here) and is worth reviewing because they show useful video clips of each step. This recipe is VERY GOOD. Below is my personalized version incorporating my notes and changes I've made to the recipe, below that is a description of the changes I've made and the original recipe.
NOTE: IF YOU'RE MAKING THIS FOR LUNCH START IT AT 9AM.
NOTE: READ EVERY STEP BEFORE EXECUTING. So far every time you've made this you made some minor mistake, although it hasn't made any difference to the end result.
Ingredients
3-1/2 to 4-lb. whole chicken
Diamond Crystal or Morton kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
5 Tbsp. gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 heads of garlic
1-1/2 inch piece fresh ginger
1-1/2 lb. baby Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1-1/2" in diameter)
5 scallions (optional)
2 limes (optional)
2 tsp. honey (optional)
Instructions
1. Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 300°. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Place on a small rimmed baking sheet. Season chicken all over with kosher salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper, making sure to season the inside cavity.
2. IN YOUR LARGEST SIZE GLASS BOWL (see step 5), whisk gochujang and 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil until combined. Garlic-press 3 garlic cloves and add to gochujang oil. Peel and grate 1 1/2" piece fresh ginger and add to gochujang oil. Whisk to combine.
3. Cut both heads of garlic in half crosswise. Stuff 2 garlic halves inside cavity of chicken. Tie legs together with kitchen twine.
4. Using a pastry brush, brush half of gochujang oil over chicken.
5. Toss potatoes, remaining 2 garlic halves and 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in remaining gochujang oil until well coated. Season lightly with salt and pepper and toss again to combine.
6. Arrange potatoes in a 12" skillet around the edges of pan. Nestle garlic halves (cut sides down) in center of skillet. Place chicken over garlic. If any potatoes have shimmied their way under the chicken, use tongs to arrange them around it (they won’t cook at the same rate if they’re under the chicken).
7. Cover the pan with foil. Roast chicken and potatoes for about 2 hours. Remove foil and turn potatoes to coat in juices and oil that accumulate in pan. Return to oven uncovered and continue roasting until potatoes are very tender when pressed with the back of a spoon, and chicken skin is deep reddish-golden brown in color, about 45 minutes more for a total cooking time of around 2:45. When you wiggle the legs of the chicken, they should feel loose in the joints, meaning the meat is fall-apart tender. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let rest 10–15 minutes. Don't skip this step: Letting the bird rests helps the juices in the meat to settle (in other words, it makes the meat juicier).
8. Meanwhile, use the back of a large spoon or a potato masher to gently smash potatoes in skillet, exposing some of their flesh to juices underneath so they can soak them up.
9. (Optional) thinly slice 5 scallions on a long diagonal. Cut 2 limes in half. Cut 1 half into wedges and set aside. Stir 2 tsp. honey and juice of remaining lime half into potatoes. Taste potatoes and season with more salt if needed. Scatter sliced scallions over potatoes.
10. Carve chicken, then arrange pieces over potatoes and scallions. Serve right out of skillet with remaining lime wedges alongside for squeezing, and squeeze out the sweet, slow-roasted garlic cloves as you wish.
Here's the original recipe and some notes from my experiences that explain changes I've made:
NOTES:
Ingredients
1 3-1/2 to 4-lb. whole chicken
1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt, plus more
Freshly ground black pepper
5 Tbsp. gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 heads of garlic
1-1/2 inch piece fresh ginger
1-1/2 lb. baby Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1-1/2" in diameter)
5 scallions
2 limes
2 tsp. honey
Instructions
1. Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 300°. This is an important temperature for this recipe, so if you don’t have an oven thermometer already, now is the time to get one! Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Place on a small rimmed baking sheet. Season 1 3½–4-lb. whole chicken all over with 1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper, making sure to season the inside cavity.
2. Whisk 5 Tbsp. gochujang and ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil in a medium to large bowl (see step 5) until combined. Finely grate 3 garlic cloves (from one of the heads of garlic) into gochujang oil. Peel 1 ½" piece fresh ginger (a spoon can get the job done), then grate into gochujang oil; whisk to combine.
3. Cut what’s left of the head of garlic in half crosswise. Repeat with second head of garlic. Stuff 2 garlic halves inside cavity of chicken. Tie legs together with kitchen twine.
4. Using a pastry brush, brush half of gochujang oil over chicken.
5. Toss 1-1/2 lb. baby Yukon Gold potatoes and remaining 2 garlic halves and 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in remaining gochujang oil until well coated. Season lightly with salt and pepper and toss again to combine.
6. Arrange potatoes in a 12" cast-iron skillet, scooting them toward edges of pan to make space for chicken. Nestle garlic halves (cut sides down) in center of skillet. Place chicken over garlic—as it roasts, it will infuse the fat (and thus, the potatoes) with flavor. If any potatoes have shimmied their way under the chicken, use tongs to arrange them around it (they won’t cook at the same rate if they’re under the chicken).
7. (ORIGINAL RECIPE) Roast chicken and potatoes, turning potatoes once or twice to coat in juices and oil that accumulate in pan, until potatoes are very tender when pressed with the back of a spoon, and chicken skin is deep reddish-golden brown in color, 2½–3 hours. When you wiggle the legs of the chicken, they should feel loose in the joints, meaning the meat is fall-apart tender. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let rest 10–15 minutes. Don't skip this step: Letting the bird rests helps the juices in the meat to settle (in other words, it makes the meat juicier).
7. (MODIFIED RECIPE) Cover the pan with foil. Roast chicken and potatoes for about 2 hours. Remove foil and turn potatoes to coat in juices and oil that accumulate in pan. Return to oven uncovered and continue roasting until potatoes are very tender when pressed with the back of a spoon, and chicken skin is deep reddish-golden brown in color, about 45 minutes more for a total cooking time of around 2:45. When you wiggle the legs of the chicken, they should feel loose in the joints, meaning the meat is fall-apart tender. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let rest 10–15 minutes. Don't skip this step: Letting the bird rests helps the juices in the meat to settle (in other words, it makes the meat juicier).
8. Meanwhile, use the back of a large spoon or a potato masher to gently smash potatoes in skillet, exposing some of their flesh to juices underneath so they can soak them up.
9. Finish the potatoes: Thinly slice 5 scallions on a long diagonal. Cut 2 limes in half. Cut 1 half into wedges and set aside. Stir 2 tsp. honey and juice of remaining lime half into potatoes. Taste potatoes and season with more salt if needed. Scatter sliced scallions over potatoes.
10. Carve chicken, then arrange pieces over potatoes and scallions. Serve right out of skillet with remaining lime wedges alongside for squeezing, and squeeze out the sweet, slow-roasted garlic cloves as you wish.
