Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Start to Finish Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
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At 5StarRecipe.com, we’re all about bringing restaurant-quality dishes into your home, and our take on the classic Chicken Vesuvio is no exception. This iconic Chicago dish is famous for its perfectly crisp-skinned chicken and deeply browned potatoes, all nestled in a mouthwatering garlic and white wine sauce that packs a punch. It’s the kind of hearty, flavorful dish that makes you feel like you’re dining in one of the Windy City’s best Italian-American restaurants—right from the comfort of your own kitchen.
The Perfect Bite: Crispy Skin, Juicy Meat
What makes Chicken Vesuvio so irresistible? It’s all about contrast. The first bite delivers a salty crunch from the crispy chicken skin, but it’s quickly followed by the juicy, well-seasoned meat underneath. The skin, left intact on top, crisps up beautifully in the hot pan, while the meat beneath absorbs all the flavors from the garlicky white wine sauce, making each bite better than the last.
But it’s not just the chicken that shines in this dish. The potatoes, browned to perfection in the same pan, soak up the sauce and offer a satisfying, golden crust on the outside with a tender, fluffy center. Each forkful is a delightful combination of textures and bold flavors that make this dish a standout at any table.
A Roasting Pan Makes All the Difference
To recreate this restaurant-style Chicken Vesuvio at home, you’ll need the right tools—starting with a large roasting pan. A pan that’s at least 16 by 12 inches allows for plenty of space to brown both the chicken and potatoes efficiently, ensuring everything develops a deep, golden crust without overcrowding.
Pro Tip: Heat the roasting pan over two burners before adding the chicken and potatoes. This ensures the pan is hot enough to sear and brown the ingredients quickly, locking in all those delicious flavors. And remember to trim the skin from the underside of the chicken thighs while leaving the skin on top intact—this helps the skin crisp up nicely while allowing the meat to cook evenly.
Garlic and Lemon: The Flavor Power Duo
The garlicky white wine sauce is the heart of this dish, infusing both the chicken and potatoes with robust, savory flavors. To tame the intensity of raw garlic, we combine it with fresh lemon juice immediately after mincing. This simple technique reduces the harshness of the garlic, mellowing it into a more balanced flavor that perfectly complements the white wine and chicken stock.
The result? A sauce that’s bright, tangy, and packed with garlic flavor—but without any of the bitterness you might get from raw garlic. It’s the perfect way to elevate the dish and give it that authentic Chicken Vesuvio flavor.
Potato Perfection
A key part of this dish is ensuring the potatoes are cooked to crispy, golden perfection. By halving them crosswise, you minimize their surface area, allowing them to fit snugly in the roasting pan while maximizing the amount of browning that occurs. This technique ensures that every potato is caramelized on the outside while remaining tender and flavorful on the inside.
As the potatoes cook alongside the chicken, they absorb the flavors of the garlic, lemon, and white wine, making them a perfect partner to the juicy, crispy chicken.
These kebabs are a testament to how a bit of creativity in the kitchen can elevate a simple dish to new heights. With this method, your barbecued chicken kebabs will be a standout at any grill session.
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Ingredients:
8 each chicken thighs, bone-in, skin on, trimmed (make sure bottom fat is removed, see TIP)
1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, 2 to 3 inches in diameter, halved crosswise (see TIP) (or 1 lb if potatoes are smaller)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (divided)
14 cloves garlic, peeled (2 whole, 12 halved lengthwise)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, divided
Instructions:
PREP (20 minutes):
Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450°F.
Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Place chicken down on towels and pat tops dry with more paper towels (the drier, the better they will brown) Sprinkle both sides of chicken with 1-1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
Toss potatoes with 1 tablespoon oil and 1 teaspoon salt. Press 2 whole garlic cloves with a garlic press into a small bowl or ramekin and immediately combine with lemon juice; set aside (see TIPS).
BROWN (30 minutes):
Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in large roasting pan over medium-high heat until shimmering (see TIPS).
Place chicken, skin side down, in single layer in pan and cook, without moving it, until chicken has rendered about 2 tablespoons of fat, 2 to 3 minutes.
Place potatoes cut side down in chicken fat, arranging so that cut sides are in complete contact with surface of pan.
Sprinkle chicken and potatoes with oregano and thyme. Continue to cook until chicken and potatoes are deeply browned and crisp, 8 to 12 minutes longer, moving chicken and potatoes, if necessary, to ensure even browning.
Flip chicken and potatoes when fully browned.
When all pieces have been flipped, tuck halved garlic cloves among chicken and potatoes.
Remove pan from heat and pour wine into pan (do not pour over chicken or potatoes).
ROAST (30 minutes):
Transfer pan to oven and roast until potatoes are tender when pierced with tip of paring knife and chicken registers 185° to 190°, 15 to 20 minutes.
Transfer chicken and potatoes to deep platter, browned sides up.
Place pan over medium heat (handles will be hot) and stir to incorporate any browned bits.
Using slotted spoon, transfer garlic cloves to cutting board. Chop coarse, then mash to smooth paste with side of knife. Whisk garlic paste into sauce.
Continue to cook until sauce coats back of spoon, 3 to 5 minutes longer.
Remove from heat and whisk in reserved lemon juice mixture and 1 tablespoon parsley. Pour sauce around chicken and potatoes. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon parsley and serve.
The first bite of the chicken gives you a crunchy, salty taste of the skin. Then, on to the well-flavored meat.
NOTE: For this recipe you’ll need a roasting pan that measures at least 16 by 12 inches. For the most efficient browning, heat the roasting pan over two burners.
TIP: Trim all the skin from the underside of the chicken thighs but leave the skin on top intact.
TIP: Combining the garlic with lemon juice makes the garlic taste less harsh, but only if the lemon juice is added immediately after the garlic is minced.
TIP: To ensure that all the potatoes fit in the pan, halve them crosswise to minimize their surface area.