Nigerian Clay Pot Chicken

Everyone has a dish that they’ve eaten in a certain place and time, a dish that speaks to the emotions the memory invokes. This Clay Pot Chicken was Sunday dinner at our house in Ikeja, Nigeria—a roast chicken dish sourced from our backyard. My family raised chickens, catfish, large African snails, and the occasional pig in our yard. Our garden featured dozens of leafy greens, vegetables, and fruit trees. Although Ikeja is more suburban than the lively districts of Lagos most visitors may encounter, it is still very much a part of the metropolitan area. Lush ingredient gardens are not uncommon in the homes of Lagosians; “backyard-to-table” is traditional to the cuisine.According to my mother’s recipe, the live chicken is prepped that afternoon, the vegetables and herbs collected after the feathers were off the bird, and the clay pot soaked the night before. I had the tough job of picking out the herbs she wanted, a task I admit I didn't always enjoy. Her kitchen window opened up into the garden, and she would order me around for precisely what she was looking for. She ruled her kitchen with a silent finger pointing me this way and that.This recipe is an adaptation for my kitchen. A store-bought chicken is trussed, rubbed with an infused compound butter—Alligator Pepper and Makrut Lime Butter, in this case—then nestled on a layer of seasonal vegetables. Lemongrass, whole lime slices, and ginger add a punchy fragrance and a tangible sweetness to the pot. In the oven, the delicious herb-spiced chicken drippings coat the vegetables and citrus slices, which all gently caramelize as the chicken cooks.My recipe does omit the clay pot, and uses a Dutch oven instead, but if you have anearthenware pothandy, that will get you a little bit closer to the Sundays I remember back home. I don’t make this every Sunday like my mother did, but I can say I’ve eaten this dish more times in my life than any other meal.