Braised Chicken Thighs

From the book The Basic Gourmet by Diane Morgan, Dan Taggart, Kathleen Taggart, and Georgia Vareldzis

Serves

2

Introduction

This recipe is for you dark-meat lovers out there. You can buy thighs with the bone in and remove the skin, or buy boneless, skinless ones. These are easier to serve and eat, but if you like gnawing on the bone like we do, removing the skin is easy. We take the skin off because it contains so much fat and cholesterol—even though it is the best-tasting part. Buy the most inexpensive bottle of sherry for use in cooking, but don’t buy a product called “cooking sherry"—we do not recommend it. Use a dry (fino) or medium (amontillado), but not a sweet sherry. This recipe is quick and simple, and can be doubled easily for company.

Ingredients

	4	chicken thighs, skin removed
	¼	cup all-purpose flour
	1	tsp. salt
	1	tsp. dried sage
	1	tsp. dried thyme
	½	tsp. paprika
	1	Tbsp. olive oil
	1	Tbsp. unsalted butter
	½	cup peeled and finely diced yellow onion
	¼	lb. fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
	¼	cup sherry

Steps

1. Dry chicken pieces with paper towels so the flour will stick to them. Mix flour with salt, sage, thyme, and paprika in a plastic bag, add chicken, and close tightly. Shake well so chicken thighs are coated.
2. Heat oil and butter together over medium heat in a 10-inch frying pan until the butter foams. Brown thighs on both sides and remove to a dish. Add onions and mushrooms to the pan and sauté until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Return chicken to pan and add sherry.
3. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, turn heat to low, cover, and simmer until juices run clear when chicken is pricked with a fork near the bone, about 25 minutes.

Notes

• If you are not concerned about cholesterol and like to eat the skin of the chicken, by all means leave it on. Salt and freshly ground black pepper can be added, but poultry seasoning is quite flavorful and has some salt in it, so taste first.

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