I Make Alison Roman’s Chicken Twice a Month—It’s So Good

My family loves big, bold flavors, so I look for recipes with oomph. One of my favorites is Alison Roman's Vinegar Chicken with Crushed Olive Dressing. It delivers maximum deliciousness with minimal effort.

The tangy, briny, and savory dish is such a hit with my family that it has become my go-to twice-monthly meal for the past four years. It’s the one I turn to when I need dinner on the table in 30 minutes but still want to experience the joy of eating really, really good food.

Why I Love Alison Roman's Vinegar Chicken

The result here is greater than the sum of its parts. The recipe is quick and easy, and it requires just a few ingredients, but the dish is full of flavor. The vinegar tenderizes the chicken and creates a bright pan sauce that mixes with the schmaltzy chicken fat.

The skin crisps up beautifully, creating a perfect contrast to the juicy meat underneath. And the olive dressing is the culinary equivalent of an exclamation point. It's unexpected, punchy, and exactly what the dish needs. Despite the generous amount of olives, it isn't overwhelmingly tangy. My whole family, including my kids, loves it.

I've made it for last-minute dinner guests and countless weeknight meals, and I’ve even meal-prepped it in advance. One of the main advantages is that it's all done in one pan, so there's little clean-up. You can line the pan with aluminum foil to minimize the cleaning even more, but you’ll have to forgo scraping up the browned chicken bits. Leftovers also stay juicy and reheat well, making it a fantastic next-day lunch. This dish can truly do no wrong. 

How To Make Alison Roman's Vinegar Chicken

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place the chicken on a rimmed sheet pan, skin side up, and drizzle with olive oil. Season the chicken generously with salt, pepper, and a teaspoon of turmeric for subtle warmth and gorgeous color. Then, carefully pour a quarter cup of white wine vinegar around the chicken. Pop the pan in the oven and let it roast for 25 to 30 minutes until the chicken is deeply golden and cooked through.

While the chicken works its magic in the oven, prepare the olive dressing. Smash a cup and a half of Castelvetrano olives, and remove and discard the pits. Mix the torn and smashed olives with two cloves of finely grated garlic, a cup of chopped parsley, a generous glug of olive oil, and salt and pepper. 

Transfer the cooked chicken to a serving platter, and spoon the olive dressing into the chicken juices in the pan. Use a wooden spatula to scrape up the browned bits and rendered fat, and mix it all into the olive dressing. Pour the dressing over the chicken, and serve it immediately. 

How to Quickly and Easily Pit Olives

The olive dressing is non-negotiable in this recipe, but pitting olives can seem tedious. You can buy pitted olives in a pinch, but the flavor is fresher and more pronounced when you pit them yourself. To speed up the process, place a handful of olives under a heavy-bottomed pan and press down to crack them all at once, then remove the pits by hand.

This task is also perfect for kitchen helpers, such as guests who want to assist or little, would-be cooks. My eight-year-old daughter has been the official "olive smasher" for the past few months. 

Tips for Making Alison Roman's Vinegar Chicken

This dish doesn't need any improvement, but after four years of making it, I've learned a few tips and adaptations I occasionally incorporate.

• Use a dark-colored sheet pan: It conducts heat more effectively, producing crispier skin.
• Switch up your chicken: This dish works well with any bone-in (or deboned), skin-on chicken pieces, but I like a mixture of chicken thighs for their meatiness and drumsticks for their affordability. I have also spatchcocked a chicken, adding a splash more vinegar and adjusting the cooking time to account for the larger bird.
• Make it a complete meal: I often add fingerlings or quartered baby potatoes to the same pan. They finish cooking at the same time and absorb some of the juices. In this case, I skip mixing the dressing into the chicken remnants and pour the olive dressing directly onto the chicken and potatoes. 
• Short on olives? Bulk up the dressing by thinking about it like a vinaigrette. I add a splash of olive brine (the key ingredient) and more herbs, then adjust the olive oil, salt, and pepper accordingly. I've also subbed other green olives, like Picholine, Cerignola, and Manzanilla, with great success.
• Riff on it: Play with the dressing. Add heat with crushed chili flakes, more zing with lemon zest, or a mix of herbs like parsley, cilantro, and dill. Add the juice of half a lemon to the vinegar or use rice, apple cider, or champagne vinegar. Season the chicken with spices like paprika or smoked paprika, oregano, rosemary, or a bit of thyme.

This recipe has saved me on countless busy weeknights and impressed guests at just as many dinner parties, and I know that it'll continue to be in rotation for my family for years to come. It's beginner-level-easy and genuinely, reliably delicious—Every. Single. Time.