INGREDIENTS:

• 8 chicken thighs
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 head garlic, separated into whole cloves, papery skin removed (about 20 cloves)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 teaspoons herbes de Provence
• 1 teaspoon flour
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• bread, for serving

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Rinse and pat dry the chicken. Salt and pepper liberally and allow to temper on a cutting board while you prepare the garlic.
3. In a large ovenproof saute pan over medium heat, cook the whole garlic cloves in olive oil and butter, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Remove the garlic from the pan and set aside.
4. Increase the heat to medium high and brown the chicken skin-side down until the skin is golden and crispy, about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken over, sprinkle on herbes de Provence.
5. Add the garlic back to the pan and place hot pan in oven. Bake the chicken until cooked through, about 25 minutes.
6. Once the chicken is done, remove chicken thighs and garlic to a platter. Place the pan over medium-high heat and sprinkle the drippings with flour and stir to incorporate. Deglaze the pan with the stock and lemon juice. *
7. Pour the sauce over the chicken on the platter and serve with bread for sauce-mopping and garlic-spreading.

*Some tips for the gravy:

• Make sure the drippings are heated thoroughly before adding flour, followed by the stock and lemon juice.
• Depending on how much drippings your chicken produced, you may want to add butter to the drippings and heat thoroughly before adding the flour.