Yum Stuff: One Chook Dan Chicken

My friend Dan had been travelling the world for almost 18 months when he came to visit us in New York for dinner. I made the dish below. I had one piece, Mat had another. We then watched in amazement as Dan slowly and methodically ate the rest of it. There, in our kitchen, we watched one man eat almost an entire chicken. He only stopped periodically to exclaim : 'It's so great to have a home cooked dinner!', and to take the occasional breath.

That is how the legend of One Chook Dan was born, and the One Chook Dan Chicken got its name.

One Chook Dan Chicken:

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 small to medium sized jar of apricot jam
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper or peppercorns
• 1 whole chicken cut into pieces.

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400° F/200C. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes, jam, vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper. Simmer until the sauce has thickened slightly, about 15 minutes.
   Alternatively, you can just make the sauce cold and pour it on, this gives you more juices to pour over everything at the end.
2. Meanwhile, rinse the chicken and pat it dry with paper towels. Arrange the pieces in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and season with the remaining salt and pepper.
3. Pour the barbecue sauce over the chicken. Roast, spooning the sauce over the chicken once, until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 hour.
4. Serve with mash or rice, something to soak up the yummy sauce. Broccoli and beans are nice with this. 
   Make sure you get some for yourself before Dan takes it all!