So this isn’t exactly a proposal… but it is apparently the way to get one. Upon searching the internet to prepare for this post I found that there are many different versions and stories behind the “engagement chicken.” First, I’m going to tell you the story of how I learned of the elusive “engagement chicken.”
I am a huge fan of Food Network and go through phases where it is literally all I watch. (I also do that with QVC… but we can save that story for another day.) One day in college I was watching the Barefoot Contessa and the show’s host, Ina Garten, started talking about how when a woman makes this chicken recipe for her boyfriend he will promptly propose. She shared a story about how this worked for someone she knew (or maybe she had heard a story… I have slept a few nights since then) and it seemed very sweet. She shared the recipe on the show as well and it sounds delicious.
Fast forward a couple of years and here I am thinking of things to blog about… the engagement chicken comes to mind so I google it and look what I found.
So apparently this is the real story behind engagement chicken and could very well be the story Ina told me about when I watched all those nights ago. Either way I think it is fun and I would love for someone to test it. Anyone out there want to volunteer and report back? All you would have to do is prepare this chicken (and don’t tell your boyfriend that it has a secret meaning) and see how long it takes for him to P the Q. Seriously, any takers?
Or you could just make this chicken for fun because it sounds finger licking good. Here is the recipe.
Engagement Chicken (Recipe by Ina Garten)
Ingredients
- 1 (4 to 5 pound) roasting chicken
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 lemons
- 1 whole head garlic, cut in 1/2 crosswise
- Good olive oil
- 2 Spanish onions, peeled and thickly sliced
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
- 1 tablespoon all-purose flour
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Remove and discard the chicken giblets. Pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Cut the lemons in quarters, place 2 quarters in the chicken along with the garlic and reserve the rest of the lemons. Brush the outside of the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle the chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the chicken in a small (11 by 14-inch) roasting pan. (If the pan is too large, the onions will burn.) Place the reserved lemons and the sliced onions in a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Pour the mixture around the chicken in the pan.
Roast the chicken for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and a thigh. Remove the chicken to a platter, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the sauce, leaving the lemons and onions in the pan.
Place the pan on top of the stove and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the wine and stir with a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits. Add the stock and sprinkle on the flour, stirring constantly for a minute, until the sauce thickens. Add any juices that collect under the chicken. Carve the chicken onto a platter and serve with the lemons, onions, and warm sauce
You can also check out Ina’s recipe here.
You can find the recipe for Glamour Magazine’s Engagement Chicken here.
