Name: Carlo Middione’s Gypsy-Style Clay-Wrapped Chicken
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Spain
Ingredients: ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 2 large garlic cloves, peeled; 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 1 whole frying chicken (about 3 pounds), preferably organic; 1 whole lemon, pierced all over with the tip of a knife; 3 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, shredded; 1 large bay leaf, crumbled; 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt; 4 large branches fresh sage leaves; 2 tablespoons juniper berries

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking

By Paula Wolfert

Published 2009

About

My friends Barbara and Jon Beckmann described a chicken wrapped in clay that they ate in the 1960s in a Madrid, Spain restaurant: “It was an upscale place on Plaza Mayor, and it was pure theater.” Jon told me, “They brought this mass of baked clay out to the table, gave Barbara a silver mallet, and told her to break it open. Soon as she did we were hit by the wonderful aroma of chicken, truffles, foie gras, thyme, and cognac. The chicken wa