Alton Brown's Chicken in Garlic and Shallots

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

• Ready In: 1 hr 40 mins
• Serves: 6
• Yields: 6

Ingredients

• 1  whole chickens, cut into 8 pieces (broiiler or fryer) or 10  chicken thighs
•  salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1⁄2 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.