TThe other day I had a whole chicken out of the freezer and was trying to decide what I wanted to make that night. My roast chicken is great, but I just felt like having something different. I went through the mental check list of what I had (chicken, mushrooms, artichokes etc) looked around, and still couldn't decide.
I thought of a braised chicken of some sort, and in an online group I am part of I mentioned that thought. Thanks to two of my friends, Beth and Janet, I decided to try an oven braised chicken. So I gathered up chicken, wine, chicken stock, thyme, Penzey's shallots, and olive oil.
I broke down the chicken, and threw the back into my freezer bag of chicken parts for the next time I make stock. I also put three heaping tablespoons of the dried shallots into a bowl of water to rehydrate.
After seasoning the chicken parts with salt and pepper, I browned them in olive oil in an oven safe skillet. I probably could have browned them a little more.
After removing the chicken from the skillet, I deglazed the pan with a big splash of white wine, stirring up all the brown bits. I then added the rehydrated shallots along with a handful of sliced leeks from the freezer. Hey, it was the last of the leeks and I figured why not. I stirred this for a bit until a lot of the liquid was reduced and it smelled good.
And back the chicken went into the pan, along with a handful of fresh thyme.
And then I poured in chicken stock to about half way up the chicken. Into the oven it went for about 30 minutes. The advantage to an open pan braise in the oven is that the chicken skin gets nice and crispy.
The liquid wasn't reduced quite as much as I wanted for a sauce, so I removed the chicken to a plate, put the pan over high heat, and reduced by about half. I added a pat of butter at the end, which made the sauce silky smooth.
And served the chicken with rice and sauce.
The chicken was incredibly moist, although I got stuck on a work call and it was in the oven longer than I intended. I will repeat this, but do a few things differently. It needed more seasoning and I should have been a little more generous with the salt and pepper for the chicken pieces, as well as seasoning the sauce. I thought it need a little more aromatics, so I would throw in more thyme next time, use fresh shallots or leeks, and probably a handful of garlic cloves.
Merri's Oven Braised Chicken
1 Chicken, broken down, or several pieces of your favorite chicken part (thighs, breasts or legs)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
3 shallots, diced or one sliced leek
6 whole, peeled, garlic cloves
1 bunch fresh thyme
1/2 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio)
3 cups chicken stock
Preheat oven to 375 Fahrenhight.
Heat olive oil in oven-safe high-sided skillet over medium high heat. Season chicken parts generously with salt and pepper and add to the hot oil. Do not disturb and brown for 2-3 minutes then turn and brown another 2-3 minutes. Remove chicken from the pan.
Pour in the white wine and stir quickly to deglaze the pan and bring up all the brown bits. Add the leeks or shallots, and season with salt and pepper. Stir until a wonderful fragrance rises up, but not so long that the leeks or shallots start to brown. Add back the chicken, skin side up.
Add the thyme and garlic cloves, and pour in chicken stock until it is halfway up the sides of the chicken pieces.
Place the pan, uncovered, into the oven for 30-35 minutes and check the temperature of the meat before removing.
Remove the chicken from the pan and cover to keep warm. Place pan on high heat on the stovetop and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce to the consistency of sauce you wish, add a pat of butter, and stir until the butter melts. Season if needed.
Serve with potatoes, rice, or noodles as you like.
Labels: Main Dish
