Cook's Illustrated's Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

This is another Cook's Illustrated winner, we love this recipe so much.  If it weren't bone in chicken, it would receive a perfect 10 from all of us, but only the boys give it a perfect 10, Aaron and I give it a 9.  This is not a difficult recipe to make, but it does take a little time.  Each serving is about 185 calories per piece of chicken, but that is an average, so a little less or more depending on how big your chicken is and what piece you eat.  Anyway, this is such a great chicken dish, so flavorful and moist.  Here's what to do:

4 lbs of bone in skin on chicken pieces
1/4 c table salt
pepper
3 medium heads garlic, cloves separated but unpeeled
2 medium shallots, peeled and quartered
1 T olive oil
salt
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 c chicken broth
2 T unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 400.  Dissolve the 1/4 c salt in 2 quarts cold water, and brine the chicken for 30 minutes.  Rinse the chicken pieces and pat dry, then season with pepper.
Toss the garlic and shallots with 2 t of the olive oil and salt and pepper and place in a 9 inch pie plate.  Cover with foil and roast until softened, about 30 minutes (or more), shaking the pan after 15 minutes.  Stir, and roast uncovered for another 10 minutes.  Remove the garlic from the oven and increase the oven to 450.
Heat the remaining 1 t of olive oil in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium-high heat, and brown the chicken pieces skin side down.  Brown on both sides, then remove the chicken to a plate.  Discard the fat.  Add the chicken broth and herbs, scraping the brown bits from the pan.  Add the garlic/shallot mixture to the pan, then nestle the chicken skin side up in the pan.
Bake the chicken until the breast registers 160, and the thigh reaches 170 degrees.  When chicken is cooked, remove the pan, and remove 12 garlic cloves to press through a fine mesh sieve.  Transfer the rest of the garlic, the shallots, and the chicken to a serving plate.  Push the garlic through the sieve into the pan juices, bring the liquid to a simmer, then adjust seasoning to taste.  After thickened slightly and seasoned, remove from heat and whisk in the butter.  Serve with the chicken.