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This simple chicken recipe with pancetta and olives and garlic is what folks are calling “One of the best chicken recipes ever!” and “crisp-skinned” and “juicy” and “aromatic” and “easy” and “heavenly.” (It’s traditionally made with rabbit, which is lovely, too.) You can use a whole chicken cut into pieces or you could use all thighs or drumsticks if you prefer.–David Leite
What Wine Do I Serve With Roast Chicken?
Pondering whether to uncork a bottle of red or white? We’d just as soon open a bottle of each. Gourmet Magazine’s recommended pours for this chicken recipe include, for the white, a Fattoria le Pupille Poggio Argentato ($20), “a blend of traminer and sauvignon blanc, a zippy bright, minderal-laden white that hails from the Tuscan region.” As for the red, they opted for a budget-friendly, less-complex Sangiovese produced by a top-flight brunello producer but made from the vineyard’s younger vines and labeled Talenti Rosso di Montalcino ($19). Don’t forget to take a sip of each and tell us which you prefer with this dish.
Roast Chicken With Pancetta and Olives
Ingredients
- Two (3 1/2-pound) chickens or rabbits, cut into 10 to 12 pieces*
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary leaves
- 1 to 2 teaspoons fine sea salt , (or less if using particularly salty olives)
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, (optional)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 10 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 thick slices pancetta or bacon, cut into 1/2- to 1-inch pieces (about 1/4-inch-thick slices or 4 ounces [113 g] total)
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 24 black olives, pitted if desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C). Adjust the oven rack to the center position.
- In a large bowl, toss the chicken with the oil, thyme, rosemary, sea salt, red pepper flakes, if using, and black pepper, rubbing the mixture all over the chicken.
- Arrange the chicken pieces, skin side up, in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. Scatter the garlic and pancetta or bacon around the chicken on the baking sheet. Roast until the chicken begins to brown, about 20 minutes.
- Dribble the wine over the chicken and roast for 8 minutes more. Scatter the olives around the chicken and roast until the skin is golden brown and crisp and the meat is cooked and tender, 15 to 20 minutes more. (If the chicken pieces are particularly large, allow a few extra minutes.)
- Let the chicken rest on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before serving. If desired, spoon some of the pan juices over the chicken. And if using unpitted olives, you may wish to offer a word of warning to guests. Originally published October 22, 2012.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This roast chicken with pancetta and olives is superb! It positively explodes with flavor—the briny olives, crisp pancetta, soft roasted garlic, crunchy chicken, and the white wine and drippings pan sauce that makes itself. Oh, it’s heavenly! I’m looking for an excuse to have company over so I can wow them with this dish.
This was absolutely delicious! The aroma of the chicken, fresh herbs, pancetta, wine, and garlic filled the kitchen. I served this for dinner with friends over the weekend and everyone loved the way the salty pancetta and olives complemented the chicken and herbs.
This is one of the best chicken recipes ever! It’s so simple and beautifully rustic when it comes out of the oven. The chicken came out tender and juicy with a rich, salty flavor. It reminded me of a brined chicken without the work of brining overnight.
This could very well be my next go-to roasted chicken recipe. The ingredients came together quickly and the majority of them I regularly have on hand. I added the full amount of red pepper flakes and this gave the chicken just a little zing. I like the briny flavor imparted by the olives and the pancetta.
This dish belongs on a glossy color photo. It’s a rustic dish. The colors from the herbs, flecks of pepper flakes and olives, along with the browned chicken skin are beautiful. The fragrance of the roasting chicken was wonderful.
I don’t know how this site does it but you have the best chicken recipes! This roast chicken with pancetta and olives is no exception.
This was a very simple recipe filled with aroma and taste. The chicken came out juicy and tender. The two things I’d adjust next time are to add less salt (I believe half the amount would be perfect) and allow the chicken more time in the oven so that the skin gets a better color. I ended up leaving it in 7 more minutes prior to adding the wine. Apart from those adjustments, this is a very nice chicken.
This delightful roast chicken really was a hit with our family. Rather than using 2 chickens, we used just 1. Tossing the pieces with oil, fresh herbs, sea salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes really harkened me back to the flavors of Tuscany and reminded me of the wondrous yet simple ingredients we so much enjoy there. Just imagine the chicken roasting with those flavors and the addition of garlic cloves, pancetta, white wine, and olives! The skin became and remained crisp, thankfully, as I’m known as the chicken skin fiend in our house.
I halved this recipe and used bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts. The roast chicken with pancetta and olives is easy to prep and cook, and I lined my baking sheet with foil so there was very little cleanup. The result was a great-tasting chicken with crisp skin.
All the flavors of Italy were blended together in this recipe which was delicious. It’s a rustic dish, perfectly suited for company.
If you need a recipe to impress but are short on time, this fits the bill. An easy recipe to put together and get in the oven while you tackle other evening shenanigans.
This is an easy, interesting twist on the classic roast chicken. The use of olives and pancetta provide an unexpected balance. Two birds felt like a lot (even for 8 people), especially when serving it alongside other dishes. I like that this recipe uses a lot of ingredients that might already be in your pantry (salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic, wine) and it does come together fairly quickly.
This is a winner! I used 6 pounds of skin-on, bone-in thighs. I used only a 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, as my husband isn’t a fan of too spicy and that was perfect. The skin was crisp, the meat juicy. The leftover chicken was delicious in a chicken salad.
This recipe produced very moist chicken with a nice pan gravy to pour over it. I divided the recipe in half, making it with 3 pounds chicken thighs, which amounted to 9 thighs. I spent about 20 minutes prepping the chicken thighs, getting rid of things like excess fat. I think it’s important for the chicken not to be too spread out, so that the wine and chicken juices don’t get cooked off.
Oh, such a simple recipe to make. It lends itself to being a crowd-pleaser. The flavors of the rub came through very well. The sweetness of the roasted garlic, along within the saltiness of the black olives, was a perfect accompaniment for the chicken and with the addition of the wine, it made the chicken very moist.
This recipe for roasted chicken with pancetta and olives is a definite winner. I changed the recipe to serve 4 rather than 8, using half of the ingredients, and this worked well. I also used chicken thighs rather than a whole chicken.
What an easy and rewarding meal this is! A perfectly fine, herby roast chicken with crisp skin and gorgeous pan juices, taken to a higher level by the pancetta and whole garlic cloves.
This is a very easy recipe to pull together and much of the prep can be done ahead. The final result was very flavorful and cooked perfectly. I used 8 pounds of bone-in, skin-on thighs and breasts and increased the other ingredients accordingly—and used even more pancetta, olives, and garlic given my personal taste. We served this with couscous with pine nuts and grilled asparagus. I’d definitely make it again.
Looking for a dish that’s a breeze to pull together, can feed a horde, and is packed with boatloads of great flavor? This is just such a dish.
This is FANTASTIC. We pretty much made it as-is, although we used canned black olives. I felt they were perfect, with just the right touch of olive flavor that didn’t overpower the dish but complemented it quite nicely. Normally, we would have tried a different variety, but that was what we had on hand. The only other changes were that we halved the recipe and instead of olive oil we used duck fat. Very simple, rustic, and beautiful. This one will officially be in rotation in our home from now on.
We love when pantry staples work perfectly in a new recipe, Grace. It’s the best sort of serendipity. And duck fat makes everything better. Many thanks for letting us know.
For all of us (in the boonies) who don’t have access to a real deli, what type of black olives should be used? Should they be Kalamata or ?
Thanks
Hi Zanne, any full flavored black olives such as Kalamata should be fine. I would steer clear of the common canned black ones that are ubiquitous in grocery stores as they don’t have enough character for this dish.
9:21am…and I’m ready to make this right now!!!
Well it would be nice for lunch, Bridget. Go for it!