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–+ servings
Overhead view of a platter of chicken savoy seasoned with parmesan and herbs.

Chicken Savoy

Chicken savoy is a cut-up whole chicken, baked with a parmesan, garlic, and herb rub, and finished with a red wine vinegar sauce.
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 50 minutes
Recipe Makes: 6 servings

Equipment

  • blender
  • oven
  • cutting board
  • paper towels
  • large cast iron skillet (or similar oven-safe skillet)
  • stovetop
  • tongs
  • spoon
  • meat thermometer
  • large plate
  • aluminum foil
  • wooden spoon

Ingredients

For the Parmesan Herb Paste

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • ⅓ cup grated parmesan
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2-3 cloves garlic (peeled)
  • ½ teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (more or less to taste)

For the Chicken

  • 1 whole chicken (approximately 4-5 pounds, cut into 8 large pieces)
  • salt (to taste)
  • freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • ⅔ cup red wine vinegar

To Serve (All Optional)

  • chopped fresh parsley (to garnish)
  • roasted potatoes

Instructions

  • Add olive oil, parmesan, garlic, oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper to blender. Blend until ingredients are fully combined, pausing to scrape down sides of blender as needed. When mixture is combined and develops pasty consistency, set blender aside.
    Chicken savoy seasoning in a small glass bowl.
  • Preheat oven to 425° Fahrenheit. Place chicken pieces on cutting board and pat chicken completely dry on all sides with paper towels. Season chicken pieces on all sides with salt and pepper to taste, then set chicken aside.
    Uncooked cuts of chicken on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
  • Heat large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When skillet is warm, add olive oil and continue heating, swirling skillet occasionally to fully coat pan in oil, until oil is hot and shimmering.
  • When oil is hot, place chicken pieces in skillet skin-side down. Cook, undisturbed, 7 to 8 minutes or until skin is brown and releases easily from skillet. Note: If skin sticks to skillet, allow to cook another 1 to 2 minutes undisturbed. Check again and repeat as needed until skin releases easily. Be careful not to burn chicken.
    Cuts of uncooked chicken in a large cast-iron skillet.
  • When skin of chicken is browned and releases easily from skillet, carefully flip chicken over so skin-side faces up. Evenly spread or brush parmesan-herb paste over skin of chicken, using entire batch of paste to cover chicken well.
    Cuts of chicken in a large cast-iron skillet, coated with parmesan garlic rub.
  • Immediately place cast-iron skillet in preheated oven. Roast chicken pieces 18 minutes, then begin checking internal temperature of each piece for doneness. Chicken pieces are ready when internal temperature reaches 160° Fahrenheit. Note: Exact cooking time will vary based on size and thickness of chicken pieces.
  • As chicken pieces reach desired temperature, transfer pieces from skillet to plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Continue roasting chicken and checking temperatures until all chicken pieces have reached 160° Fahrenheit and have been transferred to plate. Set chicken aside, still covered with foil.
  • Discard any liquid from cast-iron skillet and return skillet to medium-high heat. Add red wine vinegar to skillet and deglaze pan, scraping up any browned bits of chicken or parmesan-herb paste that may be stuck to bottom of skillet. Simmer vinegar over medium-high heat 4 to 5 minutes or until liquid has reduced slightly.
    Chicken savoy sauce in a large cast-iron skillet.
  • Transfer chicken pieces to serving plates or serving platter. Spoon red wine vinegar reduction over chicken, garnish with parsley if desired, and serve chicken warm with preferred sides.

Recipe Notes

  • Chicken: The 4-5 pound weight includes the bones of the chicken, so keep that in mind if you're scaling the recipe up for a larger group.
  • Skillet: If your cast-iron skillet is too small for a whole chicken, you can use 2 skillets simultaneously, or you can work in batches using a skillet and a baking dish. See instructions below for batches.
 

To Cook Chicken Savoy in Batches

  1. Follow steps 2 through 4 to pan-sear half the chicken pieces.
  2. After applying the parmesan-herb paste to this batch, transfer the chicken to a baking dish and cover the dish with foil to retain heat.
  3. Repeat steps 2 through 4 to pan-sear the second batch of chicken.
  4. After applying the parmesan-herb paste to the second batch, remove the foil from the baking dish. Place both the baking dish with chicken AND the cast-iron skillet with chicken into the oven.
  5. Follow instructions above for roasting chicken and checking temperature.
  6. Once all chicken from cast-iron skillet has been transferred to plate, return cast-iron skillet to stovetop and finish instructions above for red wine vinegar reduction. When all chicken from baking dish has been transferred to plate, baking dish is no longer needed for this recipe.

Recipe costs provided are approximate. Actual cost per recipe & serving will vary by location, store, brand, etc. Approximate cost shown does not include costs for any optional ingredients.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 548kcal | Protein: 35g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 141mg | Sodium: 421mg | Potassium: 375mg | Total Carbs: 1g | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 0.03g | Net Carbs: 1g | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 87mg
Cheap Cheap Eats recipe developed by Cheryl Malik