Alton Brown's Chicken in Garlic and Shallots

Epi Curious's Note:

Published in the AJC, this is supposedly Alton Brown's absolute favorite recipe to prepare.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 40 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 6

Yield: 6.0

• 1 whole chickens, cut into 8 pieces (broiiler or fryer) or 10 chicken thighs
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 sprigs parsley , sage and thyme (fresh)
• 10 garlic cloves , peeled
• 10 shallots , peeled and split in half from stem to root

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper. toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and brown on both sides in a wide, straight-sided, ovenproof frying pan or skillet over high heat. (If you don't have such a pan, you may need to brown the chicken in one pan and then finish the dish in a casserole.).
2. remove from heat; add herbs, garlic, shallots and the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil. (There's no reason to chop the herbs; just distribute them around and in between the chicken pieces.) Cover and bake for 1-1/2 hours.