SUNDAY
Pan~Fried Chicken Thighs with Sherry & Mushrooms | Brown Rice | Garlicky Spinach
One of the easiest ways I prepare “fried chicken” is using this method. Chicken thighs {bone~in and skin~on} are seared, skin side down, in a very hot skillet for a bit and then finished in the oven. The result is incredibly moist meat with a golden, crisp, salty crust…no flour or batter involved. This chicken is addictive and it is just as good cold. It transcends the seasons…hot out of the oven with your favorite vegetable in the cooler months or, when the weather heats up, serve the chicken warm/cold at a barbecue or picnic with a side of watermelon or potato salad. I always make more than I need for the immediate dinner as the children love taking a cold piece of chicken to school for their lunch or the leftovers, meat and skin cut from the bone and chopped, make a wonderful addition to salads. This pan~fried chicken got a bit dressed up for our Sunday dinner this week with the addition of a sauce made with mushrooms, sherry and a splash of cream…a rich finish for such simple comfort food. Perfect for a gray, wet evening.
The recipe I used for this dinner is my adaptation of one found in Canal House Cooking, Volume No.3, Winter & Spring. The ingredients are the same…chicken thighs, mushrooms, sherry & cream…but I employed the cooking method, mentioned above, rather than the stovetop only technique set forth in the Canal House recipe. A subtle difference but one I find treats the cream a bit more gently as it simmers into a velvet~like sauce. Another bonus of finishing the dish in the oven is that I created some valuable space on my stovetop to prepare a skillet of Garlicky Spinach and some steamed brown rice.
- 10 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
- kosher salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 10 ounces, sliced mushroom caps {such as white button or cremini}
- 1/2 cup sherry
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Chopped fresh chives or dill for garnish {optional}
- Preheat oven to 475°F.
- Season chicken, skin side up with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil over high heat in a large, heavy skillet or roasting pan. Place chicken thighs, skin side down & in a single layer, in the pan and cook 3-4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-high & continue cooking, skin side down {occasionally rotating pan to evenly distribute heat}, until fat renders and skin is golden brown, about 15 minutes.
- Transfer skillet or roasting pan to oven and cook 15 more minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the oven and carefully flip the chicken thighs over and then add the sliced mushroom caps, nestling them around the thighs. Return the pan to the oven & continue cooking until the mushrooms are tender, about 10 minutes longer.
- Once again, remove the skillet from the oven and add the sherry and the cream and gently stir to combine. Again, return the pan to the oven and continue to cook until the sauce has thickened up a bit, about 10 minutes more.
- Transfer the thighs to a plate & let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve the thighs, spooning the mushroom mixture over and garnish with chopped chives or dill, if using.
- 1 few large handfuls of fresh baby spinach leaves {about 5-10 ounces}
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- fine grain sea salt
- 5-6 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese {optional}
- crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
- Hold off cooking the greens until just before eating. Then, in a large skillet heat the olive oil. Add a couple big pinches of salt and the greens. They should hiss and spit a bit when they hit the pan. Stir continuously until the leaves turn bright green, and they just barely start to collapse - two or three minutes, depending on how hot your pan is {watch the spinach closely, it breaks down fairly quickly and you want to avoid them becoming mush}.
- Then, just thirty seconds before you anticipate pulling the skillet off of the heat, stir in the garlic. Saute a bit, remove the pan from the heat, stir in the Parmesan, and add a big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. Taste, add a bit of salt if needed, and serve immediately.
