Slow-Roast Gochujang Chicken

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Garlic
• Kosher salt
• Pepper
• Honey
• Fresh ginger
• Scallions
• Lime
• Ground
• Limes
• Juice
• Half
• Ginger
• Chicken
• Whole
• Sliced scallions

Directions

1. Set an oven rack in the center position and heat the oven to 300 degrees. The exact heat matters here, so an oven thermometer is worth using if you don't already have one. Blot 1 3½–4-lb. whole chicken dry with paper towels, then set it on a small rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle it everywhere, including inside the cavity, with 1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal kosher salt or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt, plus plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together 5 Tbsp. gochujang and ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil. Grate 3 garlic cloves from 1 of the garlic heads directly into the mixture. Peel a 1 ½" piece fresh ginger, using a spoon if you like, grate it into the bowl, and whisk again.
3. Slice the rest of that garlic head crosswise through the middle, then do the same with the 2nd head of garlic. Put 2 garlic halves into the chicken cavity, then secure the legs with kitchen twine.
4. Use a pastry brush to coat the chicken with half of the gochujang oil.
5. Add 1½ lb. baby Yukon Gold potatoes, the remaining 2 garlic halves, and 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil to the gochujang oil left in the bowl, and toss until everything is coated. Add a light sprinkle of salt and pepper, then toss once more.
6. Spread the potatoes in a 12" cast-iron skillet, nudging them out toward the sides so there is room for the chicken. Tuck the garlic halves in the middle with their cut sides facing down. Set the chicken on top of the garlic; as it cooks, the fat will pick up that garlic flavor and carry it into the potatoes. If any potatoes slide beneath the bird, move them back around the outside with tongs, since they will cook unevenly underneath.
7. Roast the chicken and potatoes for 2½–3 hours, turning the potatoes 1 or 2 times so they get coated with the juices and oil in the skillet. You are looking for potatoes that give easily when pressed with the back of a spoon and chicken skin that is a deep reddish-golden brown; the legs should wiggle loosely at the joints, which tells you the meat is very tender. Move the chicken to a cutting board and rest it for 10–15 minutes. This pause matters because the juices settle back into the meat.
8. While the chicken rests, gently crush the potatoes in the skillet with the back of a large spoon or a potato masher, opening them up so the juices underneath can soak in.
9. To finish the potatoes, thinly slice 5 scallions on a long diagonal. Halve 2 limes. Cut 1 half into wedges and reserve them. Mix 2 tsp. honey and the juice from the remaining lime half into the potatoes. Taste, then add more salt if they need it. Sprinkle the scallions over the potatoes.
10. Carve the chicken and lay the pieces over the scallions and potatoes. Bring the skillet to the table with the lime wedges for squeezing, and press out the sweet slow-roasted garlic cloves wherever you want them.
11. If carving the bird makes you nervous, a carving video is a good backup. You can season the chicken 12 hours before cooking; refrigerate it if more than 2 hours will pass before it goes in the oven.