Argentinian Mud Chicken - Recipe

Serves: 4 to 5
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 2 to 2.5 hours
Estimated cost: Less than $10

Mud Chicken? Yup, chicken baked in mud. This recipe originates from an old-school Argentinian cookbook that covers recipes that gauchos and indigenous people prepare.

When I first heard of this method I said to myself, "that is never going to work." It wasn't until Lucy Pickering from Chasetherace.net dumped a steaming brick of mud out of her Dutch oven that I reconsidered.

The Pickering kids whacked it with a stick and unearthed a foil-wrapped chicken. The aroma was divine and the chicken was moist and falling off the bone. Absolutely delicious.

Less than a week after first tasting mud-baked chicken, I decided to give it a shot. We added a little Life Remotely flair and voila I present to you our recipe for Argentinian Mud Chicken.

The Ingredients

• 1 lemon, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 celery stick, chopped
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 chicken, cleaned and dried with a paper towel
• Mud, not too dry and not too runny
• Foil

The Spices

• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper, optional
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• Italian seasoning

The Steps

1. Go find some mud, preferably with few rocks in it. If you cannot find mud, make some. Create a layer of mud in the bottom and around the sides of your trusty Dutch oven. Keep the rest of the mud close by, you will need it soon.
2. Start a charcoal fire or a larger wood fire so you can make some coals to bake with. Make a secure base to place the Dutch oven on. Make sure there is some air flow. When the fire is ready, make two piles of coals. One to stoke the fire and the rest to place on and under the dutch over.
3. Mix the spices together in a bowl. Clean and pat the chicken dry with a towel. Rub the chicken with the spice mix and fill the cavity with about half of the lemon slices, and all of the garlic, onion and celery.
4. Set the chicken on a large piece of foil. Place some lemon slices underneath and around the sides of the chicken. Wrap the foil around the chicken, making sure there are no exposed parts. Place the wrapped chicken in the Dutch oven and fill with mud. Place the lid on the Dutch oven and check to see that it is a snug fit.
5. Place the Dutch oven on the fire  with good heat at the bottom (5-10 coals) and add a layer of coals to the top of the pot. Keep adding new coals as the old burn out. You'll need to cook for 2 to 2.5 hours. After the time has passed, remove the coals and the lid. Using your gloves turn the pot upside down to get the mud brick out. Be careful, it is hot.
6. Take a stick and hit the top of the baked mud to crack and remove it. Gently move the foil wrapped chicken and unwrap the layers of foil.
7. Let the chicken sit and think about what it has done for a few minutes. Then carve, serve and enjoy.

Thoughts, comments or recommendations? We would love to hear them.