One Pot Braised Chicken Thighs

Braised chicken and vegetables cooked in wine and chicken fat. What more could you want? WHAT MORE? Why won’t you ANSWER ME?? IS THIS SOME SORT OF SICK JOKE???
I am fine. It has been a long Covid.

quickie

• Sear the chicken
• Roast the veg in stages
• Add the rest of the junk and braise for 20-30 minutes
• Be comforted by food

Servings:

• 4

Serve Over:

• Rice or any mashed vegetable

Time:

•  About 40 minutes prep, 40 minutes cook

Nutritional information: 

• Thighs are the most voluptuous part of the chicken

Special Equipment: 

• Braising dish like a Dutch oven

Grocery List:

• 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
• Two handfuls of fingerling potatoes
• 2 carrots
• Big handful of mushrooms
• 1 leek
• 3 shallots 
• 4-6 cloves garlic
• Small bundle of thyme
• 1 ¼ cups chicken stock
• 1-2 tbsp butter (optional)
OPTIONAL:
• ¾ cup dry white wine - If you've got an open bottle of wine toss some in. If you've got a closed bottle of wine turn it into an open bottle. If you don't have wine you can use extra chicken stock. But if there’s one thing super-lame memes get right, it’s that wine is good.
• Parsley to garnish.
• This dish has a mild flavour. If you want to power it up you could put a rub on the chicken (no sugar, or it will burn when searing), or add chicken bouillon to the broth. I like to keep it pretty simple and add hot sauce while eating it.

LESS quickie

Process:

Salt the top and bottom of the chicken thighs. This is better if done beforehand (up to the day before if possible) for that sweet sweet salt penetration, but right before cooking also works. You can trim the extra fat off the bottom if you like. I leave it on cause I like to party. And cause vegetables cooked in rendered chicken fat are a good time.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F / 205 degrees C.

Sear the chicken: Heat the braising dish on the stovetop on med/high. Once it’s hot add a splash of oil and roll it around. Place the thighs skin side down, and don’t overcrowd them. You will likely have to do this in two batches unless you’ve got a mammoth Dutch oven. Let them cook without moving them for 5 minutes, then check to see if the skin as as crispy as you want. Have patience with this, get the skin as crispy as possible (usually about 7-8 minutes). Flip and sear the bottom for another 2 minutes. Remove the thighs and set them aside, leaving the rendered fat in the dish.

If your potatoes are much bigger than a robin’s egg, you can cut them in half. If you’re unsure what size a robin’s egg is, ask your smartest friend or the internet or get mad at your parents about your upbringing. Add the potatoes into the braising dish and roll them around in the rendered fat. When the oven is preheated place the dish in the oven with no lid, and roast the potatoes for 15 minutes.

Cut the rest of the veg similar to the picture below. Lightly smash the garlic cloves, remove the skin, and cut them in half. I also like to slice one clove super thin Goodfellas style, if for no other reason than it reminds me how good Goodfellas was.

After the potatoes have roasted for 15 minutes, add the carrots to the dish and roast for another 10. Then add the leeks and mushrooms, give it a quick stir and back in the oven for 20 minutes more.

Add the garlic, thyme, 1/2 tsp salt, and black pepper to taste. If you’re feeling slutty drop a tbsp or two of butter in there. Pour in the chicken stock and wine (*the measurements can be played with, depending on the size of your dish; you want the liquid just over the veg, so it ends up about 1/3rd of the way up the thighs).

Layer the chicken thighs on top. Bring it to a simmer on the stovetop over medium heat, then taste the broth for salt and pepper and adjust as necessary. Place the lid on the dish and put it back into the oven for 20-30 minutes until the chicken is tender when stabbed with a toothpick.

As an option you can turn the oven to broil for the last 3-5 minutes, to crisp the skin back up (but watch it carefully). This is a trade-off, where the chicken will lose a bit of moisture but the skin will be much tastier. Because thighs are quite juicy, the trade-off is worth it to me. But I won’t tell you how to live your life, not now, not ever.

Dish this out over rice or potatoes, garnish with parsley and dive in. Dinner is a special part of the day and I’m glad that you made it. Get into it.