Braised Chicken with Artichokes & Mushrooms
Braising is one of the most useful cooking techniques to learn. Once mastered, it turns tougher cuts of meat and vegetables into a hearty meal that warms your stomach and your heart. Also, it makes your casa smell fantastic. There are three secrets to a perfect braise. First is the perfect pan: a heavy Dutch oven pot with the lid. This heavy duty pan will allow you to brown your meat on the stove top and then place it directly into oven, where it will retain its heat and slowly finish cooking the meat. I used a 6 quart Le Creuset pan for this recipe. Not only is it beautiful (I call it kitchen jewelry), it goes from stove top, to oven, to table. The second secret is to brown your meat. By browning the meat well on all sides, you allow the outside of the meat to brown and caramelize, which adds a great depth of flavor to the dish. The third secret is flavorful liquid. Today, we are using white wine and chicken stock. We place the meat and vegetables into this flavorful liquid, allowing the veggies to bathe in the flavorful goodness as it cooks. You can eliminate the wine and use all stock if you wish, or by just changing the white wine to red, you create another famous braised dish: coq au vin. Braised dishes are always a crowd pleaser and perfect for entertaining, as they can be made a day in advance. In fact, I try to always cook mine a day ahead because it allows the flavor to enhance and deepen. What could possibly make this dish any better? To serve it on top of creamy, cheesy polenta.
Ingredients
- ½ cup Olive Oil
- Salt and Black Pepper
- 8-10 Chicken Thighs bone in
- 2 Medium Onions finely diced
- 1 pound Mushrooms washed and finely sliced
- 3 cloves Garlic crushed
- 16 oz Frozen Artichoke Hearts defrosted
- 4-5 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
- 1 cup White Wine
- 2 cups Chicken Stock
- 2 T Parsley finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325º F.
- Place a 6-quart Dutch oven with a lid on the stove. Turn heat to medium-high heat. Add ¼ cup of olive oil and heat.
- Using a paper towel, pat dry the chicken. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
- Place the seasoned thighs into pan; do not overcrowd the pan. Brown both sides of the chicken, about 3 minutes a side. Once they are browned, remove from the pan. Set on platter and set aside. If necessary, add the remaining ¼ cup olive oil. Repeat with remaining thighs. Pour off all fat except for 2T.
- Turn heat to medium. Add the onions, and cook until slightly soft, about 4-6 minutes. Add the mushroom and cook another 4-5 minutes.
- Add the wine and scrape the bottom of the pan to remove all the brown bits. Add the stock and bring to a boil.
- Place the chicken back into the pot, pushing the thighs down to submerge them in the sauce. Add the garlic, artichokes and thyme.
- Cover with lid and place in a 325º F oven. Cook the chicken until the meat is tender enough to cut with a fork and easily comes away from the bone, about 45-55 minutes.
- Remove the chicken and vegetables from the sauce and place on a platter. Discard the thyme and strain the sauce into a fat separator.
- Pour the defatted sauce back into the pan to reheat and reduce slightly. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken and vegetable back into the sauce to reheat.
- Serve the chicken and sauce over polenta. Top with chopped parsley.
Notes
Tips & Tricks:
– Cooking with meat on the bone is ideal for several reasons: It insulates and protects the meat from drying out and also adds loads of flavor.
– I use a clean pair of scissors to trim off any extra large pieces of skin/fat on the thighs before browning.
– To achieve a beautiful browned chicken thigh, make sure to pat them dry, season right before placing in pan and don’t overcrowd the pan. This way they brown rather than steam.
– This dish can be made in advance and reheated just before serving either on the stovetop or in oven.
– The flavor in this dish improves as it ages; feel free to make it a day or 2 before serving. It is a great crowd pleaser and easy to double.
– I like to use frozen artichokes instead of canned. They taste fresher to me. If you don’t have time to defrost them, its ok just put them directly in the pot.