by Very simple. Very good. Basic recipe from Craving Tasty, but with my own adjustments. Honestly, the photo there looks a lot better than mine, and I can’t really say why but it was still pretty good.
Equipment: cast iron enameled dutch oven, extra-large skillet
Oven: preheat to 350.
Ingredients:
10 bone-in chicken thighs (contents of a standard family pack)
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder
4 Tbsp butter (more as needed)
2 yellow onions, sliced or roughly chopped
3 carrots or the rough equilvalent of baby carrots, in 1/2 inch pieces
3 stalks celery, in 1/2 inch pieces
6 cloves garlic, roughly sliced, or 1 tbsp jarred minced garlic
1/4 cup flour
3 cups chicken broth (or 3 cups water + 1 Tbsp bouillon/soup base)
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
Method:
The original recipe calls for a braiser, which is a fatter and squatter dutch oven. I don’t have such a thing, so this has some extra steps.
- Combine somewhat random amounts of the seasonings in a small bowl. Trim the fat and the floppy part of the skin off the chicken thighs and sprinkle or rub the seasoning. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the large skillet and sear the chicken for 5 minutes on each side. (Half the chicken will fit at at a time, so this will take a little while. Prep the carrots, celery, and onion while the first batch of chicken is browning.)
- Separately, in the dutch oven, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and saute the vegetables until the onions are softened. Make space for the garlic and saute briefly (maybe only 30 seconds, until fragrent), then mix in with the vegetables.
- If you’re lucky, the chicken will be done at about the same time. Set all the chicken aside, and use a spatula to scrape all the remaining butter/chicken juices/fat from your large skillet to the dutch oven. Then add the flour and mix it with the vegetables. You might need to add a bit more fat (the original recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of olive oil in addition but that seemed too much). Stir until the flour turns brown and there’s a nutty aroma. (This can be a bit tricky and the flour may or may not stick to the pot.)
- Remove from heat, pour in the chicken broth and deglaze/scrape up whatever’s stuck to the bottom. Stir in the red wine vinegar. “Adjust the seasonings” (yes, this is my pet peeve). Cover with the lid and braise in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. (The longer the bake time, the more it will be falling-off-the-bone.)
- When done, serve with noodles.
