Gochujang Chicken before the potatoes are mashed in all the juices. I forgot to get a photo once I carved it. I guess I just couldn’t wait to eat it.
This lovely recipe is almost verbatim from Bon Appetit magazine. The ingredients called out to me when I read it .
I’d never used, or even heard of gochujang paste before I saw this recipe, so I wanted to follow the instructions as written. I’m glad I did because the results were extremely tasty. The potatoes, which cook in the chicken juices and fat along with cloves of garlic, are intensely flavored. Bon Appetit called them schmaltzy potatoes and I certainly agree.
The dish cooks for hours, very low and slow. Karl couldn’t understand why I would cook a chicken for so long, when I could cook it in an hour. After he tasted how juicy and flavorful the chicken was, he understood.
The sauce is not as spicy as it’s name implies. The chicken will end up beautifully flavored but not too spicy at all. The gochujang does give it a beautiful burnished glaze.
While the chicken is resting, mash the potatoes and garlic with a potato masher or fork until chunky
Slow-Roast Gochujang Chicken
1 3½–4-lb. whole chicken
2 teaspoons 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 ½" piece fresh ginger
1 1/2 lb. baby Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1½" in diameter)
5 scallions
2 limes
2 tsp. honey
Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 300°.
Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Place on a small rimmed baking sheet. Season all over with 1 salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper, making sure to season the inside cavity.
Whisk gochujang and ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil in a medium bowl until combined. Finely grate 3 garlic cloves (from one of the heads of garlic) into gochujang oil. Grate ginger into gochujang oil; whisk to combine.
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.
Using a pastry brush, brush half of gochujang oil over chicken.
Toss 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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
Makes 4 servings.
Recipe adapted from Bon Appétit
