Braised Chicken Thighs with White Wine & Dijon | Brown Basmati & Wild Rice | Baby Arugula with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
The girls and I arrived home at 2:40am Monday morning…almost exactly 5 days {to the minute} from when we left in the darkness and rain the Wednesday before. The early morning departure for a horse show always carries with it a healthy dose of excitement which infuses a bit of energy into those pre-dawn hours but there is nothing energetic or exciting about our arrival home at that hour. An overwhelming sense of relief and sheer exhaustion carried us across the threshold into our kitchen which was dimly lit from a large glass vase filled with glowing twinkle lights. The lingering aroma from roasted peppers and onions {the only remnants of Michael and Max’s Sunday dinner} hung in the air and served as a reminder of our meager dinner of apples, carrots and water which we shared with the horses at several gas stops on our journey home. Dinner aside, we were so grateful to be home…all together, safe and sound.
When I pulled together this week’s dinner menu on Sunday morning from a hotel room in Southern California this was the dinner I was craving. Falling from the bone, tender chicken, hearty vegetables and a silky gravy braised in the oven for a few hours filling the house with the most heavenly scent while I tended to the business of laundry, mail, laundry, email, laundry, phone calls, laundry, school pick up, laundry, after-school activities, and more laundry. Braises are my go-to dinner when comfort food is in order and I do not want to fuss with a fancy recipe {or any recipe for that matter}. The rules to follow for a braise are simple: sear, deglaze, add liquid and simmer. The details are left to your own imagination…I usually choose beef or chicken, any combination of aromatic vegetables {I like carrots, onion and celery when braising chicken and, for beef, I lean towards carrots, onions and tomatoes}, wine to deglaze the pan and a flavor boost: a generous dollop of dijon mustard when cooking chicken and tomato paste when working with beef. Braised Short Ribs in Wine is a favorite of ours but this one is especially easy and straight forward and yields some of the most tender, flavorful chicken I have ever tasted.
Braises usually begin with an inexpensive {and tough} cut of meat but, in this case, bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, while inexpensive, are not tough pieces of meat and can be finished in about half the time as certain cuts of beef. After a generous seasoning, all over, with salt and pepper…
The chicken thighs are seared in a bit of olive oil until beautifully golden brown…
While the meat is browning, the vegetables are prepped. I used what I had on hand which were these lovely organic rainbow carrots…
As well as some shallots and garlic…
Once all of the meat was browned and set aside, I seared the peeled and chopped vegetables in the drippings left behind in the pan used to cook the chicken. Once the veggies were golden and beginning to soften I added about a cup of white wine to the pot, scraping up all of those precious browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Once most of the wine had evaporated, some Dijon mustard was mixed into the vegetables. The chicken is then added back into the pot, nestling the pieces in between and around the veggies, along with a bundle of herbs {I used a few sprigs of fresh sage but rosemary and/or thyme would also work well}…
Next, braising liquid {in this case, a combination of chicken stock and unsweetened coconut milk} is added…enough to come halfway up the contents of the pot…
Once brought to a simmer, the pot is removed from the heat and sealed with a layer of aluminum foil and a tight-fitting lid and placed into a hot oven for a few hours. The result: incredibly flavorful, falling-from-the-bone meat, tender vegetables and a silky gravy all in one pot. Rice or mashed potatoes, along with a simple salad, finish our “Welcome Home” dinner…
Note that I usually plan on serving two chicken thighs per person for this dinner. In the recipe below, you will see that I cooked several extra chicken thighs as I will be using the leftover meat for another dinner {chicken tacos} this week.
- 16 bone~in, skin~on chicken thighs
- salt & pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4~6 carrots, peeled & cut into bite~sized chunks
- 4 large shallots, peeled and quartered
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled and thickly sliced
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
- 4~5 stems fresh sage {or other fresh herbs such as rosemary and/or thyme} tied together with kitchen string, plus a few extra leaves chopped to be used as garnish
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Rinse and thoroughly pat dry the chicken thighs using paper towels. Drying the meat is very important as any moisture left on the chicken will prevent it from getting a good sear. Once the meat has been dried, generously season each piece all over with salt and pepper and set aside.
- In a large, deep oven~proof pot {with a tight~fitting lid} heat the olive oil over medium~high heat until just shy of smoking {very hot}. Working in batches so as not to overcrowd the chicken pieces, add the chicken thighs {skin side down} to the pot and sear until deeply golden brown...about 4~5 minutes. Then, using thongs, carefully flip each piece of meat and sear on the other side...about 3~4 minutes more. Remove the browned pieces of meat to a large platter and continue cooking the remaining chicken thighs in the same fashion until all of the meat has been seared. At this point, a layer of browning should be coating the bottom of the pot...this is a good thing that will add abundant flavor to the finished dish.
- Carefully drain all but 2~3 tablespoons of the drippings from the pot and return the pot to the heat. Add the carrots, shallots and garlic to the remaining drippings in the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and slightly softened. Add the wine to the vegetables in the pot and, using a wooden spoon, scrape the layer of browning from the bottom of the pan.
- Once most of the wine has evaporated, add the mustard to the vegetables and stir until thoroughly mixed together. Return the chicken thighs to the pot, nestling the pieces of meat in and around the vegetables. Add enough of the coconut milk and chicken stock to come half~way up the contents of the pot...depending on the size of your pot, you may need a bit more or less of each of the liquids. The coconut milk will add a creamy texture to the finished braise so if a lighter, thinner finish is desired, use more chicken stock or eliminate the coconut milk all together, using only chicken stock as your braising liquid.
- Add the bundle of herbs to the pot {tying the stems together with kitchen string makes it easier to remove the wilted herbs before serving} and bring the contents of the pot to a gentle simmer. Remove the pot from the heat and carefully cover the top of the pot with aluminum foil, using enough foil to create a bit of overhang around the edges of the pot. Place the lid onto the pot, sealing closed the layer of foil and place the pot into the oven. Cook for three hours, checking once or twice to make sure there is enough braising liquid remaining in the pot while cooking...if the level of braising liquid gets too low, add more stock/coconut milk to keep the level half~way up the meat and vegetables.
- When the braise has finished cooking, remove the pot from the oven and let sit for about 10 minutes. Then, carefully, remove the lid and layer of foil from the pot. Serve the chicken pieces, with vegetables on the side, and a generous topping of "gravy" from the pot.
- As flavorful as this braise is on the day of cooking, it actually gets better one or two days later. If making in advance, cook according to the instructions above and, after removing the pot from the oven when finished, allow to completely cool before storing in the refrigerator. When ready to use, remove the pot from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature 20-30 minutes before gently reheating in the oven.
As the braise cooked in the oven for most of the afternoon, torrential rain {and a bit of hail} hammered against our windows. When everyone arrived home that evening, tired and wet, the kitchen was a haven of warmth filled with the aroma of this wonderful braise. So great to be home!
Before I go, here are a few pics from our recent adventure…
