Servings 6

Ingredients

• 1.8kg chicken

• 10 garlic cloves, grated to a purée

• 2 tbsp dried oregano

• 4 tbsp olive oil

• Juice of 2 lemons

• 50g unsalted butter

• 6 chorizo cooking sausages

• 100g soft light-brown sugar

• 100ml red-wine vinegar

Directions

1. Put the chicken into a dish or a sealable freezer bag. Mix together the garlic, oregano, olive oil and lemon juice with one tbsp salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper, then add it to the chicken, putting it inside the bird as well as outside. Marinate in the fridge overnight or for at least an hour.
   

2. Scrape the marinade off the outside – otherwise the oregano and garlic will burn – and heat the butter in a casserole dish big enough for the bird.
   

3. Brown the chicken breast-side down first, then on the other side. Be careful not to burn it. Take it out and add the sausages to the pan. Brown them all over and add the sugar and vinegar.
   

4. Bring to the boil, stirring to help the sugar dissolve, then immediately turn down to a low heat.
   

5. Push the sausages to the edges of the pan and put the chicken in the middle, breast-side down. Cover the pan and cook for 30 minutes, then turn the bird on its other side, cover, and cook for another 30 minutes.
   

6. To serve, give everyone a sliced sausage, some of the chicken and plenty of the juices.

Adapted from "Coconuts and Collards: Recipes and Stories from Puerto Rico to the Deep South," by Von Diaz (University Press of Florida, 2018).