Newsweek Tested Out Kamala Harris's Chicken Recipe. Here Are Our Thoughts (2024)

Vice President Kamala Harris is known for her cooking, following suit with the values instilled in her by her mother "that service to others gives life purpose and meaning," as she discussed at the Democratic National Convention last week.

So, it comes as no surprise that on Thursday, Chefs for Kamala is hosting a virtual get together to support Harris and share her roasted chicken recipe.

The cooking for Kamala event will be held at 8 p.m. and include famous chefs like Cat Cora, Gail Simmons, Carla Hall, Steve Samson, Ruth Reichl, Josiah Citrin and Zac Young.

At the DNC, Mindy Kaling shared a story of the first time she met Kamala Harris, when the now-Vice President was a senator. They cooked an Indian dish together at Kaling's house.

"It's not every day that a senator comes over, and I was nervous," she said. "When she arrived, we immediately hit it off."

Kaling said the thing she remembered the most was that Harris could cook, but would still compliment the comedian, having "no desire to be better than anyone else. She just wanted my kid to be proud of her mom."

"It is that warmth, that generosity of spirit, that I know she will bring to the White House as our next president," Kaling said. "Kamala Harris cares deeply about other people. She will fight to protect our freedoms."

But discussing her food and sharing recipes is nothing new for Harris.

In 2020, while people were in lockdown, Sen. Mark Warner gave a cooking tutorial on a tuna melt.

"Mark—we need to talk," Harris immediately posted to X, formerly known as Twitter. "Call. Please. Your friend KDH."

Within a week, Harris and Warner hosted a live-steam, where she discussed crisp lettuce and the perks of Dijon mustard.

Her love for cooking comes from her childhood, though.

"As a child, I remember hearing the pots and smelling the food, and kind of like someone in a trance, I would walk into the kitchen to see all this incredible stuff happening," Harris told Glamour in 2020. "My mother used to tell me, 'Kamala, you clearly like to eat good food. You better learn how to cook.'"

Harris definitely learned to cook, as exhibited with her chicken recipe. Her technique created a picture-perfect bird with juicy meat.

The Vice President's recipe has the chicken marinade in fragrant spices like garlic, thyme and rosemary overnight. The zest and juice of the lemon add a great, bright smell and flavor that makes the chicken drool-worthy.

After cooking, the different spices and flavors from the wine have had time to seep into the meat, making it a succulent and homey dish. The herbs add a lot of character.

To make the recipe, here is the Vice President's directions.

Ingredients:

• Whole organic chicken, about 5 lbs
• 3 sprigs of each of whole rosemary, sage and thyme
• 6 minced garlic cloves
• 3 peeled garlic cloves
• 2 Tbsps. minced rosemary and thyme
• 1 lemon, zested them cut into quarters
• Kosher salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• White wine, inexpensive room temperature (to avoid cracking baking dish)

Prep directions, to be completed first day prior to cooking:

1. Mix the minced garlic, rosemary, thyme, lemon zest, salt and pepper together in a small bowl
2. Then rub this mixture under the skin of breast, thighs and legs. Be sure to spread evenly under the skin
3. Liberally season the outside of the skin with salt and pepper and the inside of the cavity
4. Stuff whole rosemary, sage and thyme sprigs with two quarters of the lemon and three peeled garlic cloves into cavity
5. Truss up the chicken with butcher's twine, place in fridge uncovered or loosely covered overnight

Cooking directions:

1. Take chicken out of fridge and rest on the counter for one hour prior to cooking
2. Preheat the oven to 350° F / 325° F if using a convection oven
3. Place chicken in roasting pan and place in the over uncovered
4. After cooking for 30 minutes, remove chicken from oven and add white wine to pan as needed, up to one cup
5. Baste chicken every 15 minutes
6. Remove chicken when internal temperature reaches 168° F
7. Chicken should rest at least 30 minutes before carving
8. Carve as close to serving time as possible
9. Optional: Use skimmed pan drippings from chicken to make gravy by sifting 1 Tbsp. of flour into liquid, add chicken stock as needed. Finish off with ground pepper
10. Chef's note: One of my favorite comfort foods is to serve this chicken with brown and sauteed spinach or a nice garden salad.

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