poultry essentials: creamy mushroom chicken thighs

How To Make poultry essentials: creamy mushroom chicken thighs

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  PREP/PREPARE
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  For this recipe, you will need an ovenproof skillet that is big enough to hold all the chicken.
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  When I was working on this recipe, I tried several variations, so I only cooked 2 chicken thighs at a time (as the photos indicate). However, the ingredient list is proportioned to accommodate 4 thighs.
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  On my third attempt at this recipe, I felt the sauce was missing something, so, I decided to add some sautéed shiitake mushrooms to the sauce, and that made all the difference.
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  If you want to make the sauce a bit more decadent, you could use cream, in place of the milk; however, I found that whole milk did the job quite nicely.
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  If your chicken thighs have large flaps of skin hanging down, then cut them off. They will only sit in the sauce and become soggy. YUK!
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  Gather your Ingredients (mise en place).
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  Place a rack in the middle position, and preheat the oven to 300f (150c).
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  Add the butter and grapeseed oil to a skillet over medium heat.
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  Pat the chicken thighs with a paper towel, season with a bit of salt and pepper, and add to the pan, skin-side-down, and cook until the skin is crispy, about 4 – 6 minutes.
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  Chef’s Tip: If you have a small pan, you might need to sear the chicken thighs in two batches. If you crowd the pan, the chicken will steam, not sear, and you will be left with steamed, pale, tasteless chicken. I HATE it when that happens. When you properly sear the chicken, you will have crispy, flavorful chicken.
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  Flip the chicken, and cook for an additional 4 – 6 minutes.
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  Remove the chicken, reserve, and then remove all but 2 tablespoons of the grease, then add the mushrooms to the pan; along with the white wine.
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  Chef’s Note: If you do not wish to use wine, then use 3 tablespoons of chicken stock, and 1 tablespoon of freshly-squeezed lemon juice.
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  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms soften, and release their moisture, and the wine or stock is cooked down, about 5 – 7 minutes.
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  Add the garlic, and stir until fragrant, 60 seconds.
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  Add the sun-dried tomatoes, and the sun-dried tomato oil, and stir for 2 minutes.
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  Combine the remaining ingredients (except the chicken), to the skillet
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  Stir to combine the ingredients, while slowly bringing up to a simmer, about 2 – 3 minutes.
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  Chef’s Note: While the sauce is coming up to the simmer, taste and season with salt and pepper.
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  Return the chicken to the pan, skin side up.
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  Place, uncovered, in the pre-heated oven, and bake for 25 minutes.
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  Raise the heat to 375f (190c), and bake an additional 10 minutes.
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  PLATE/PRESENT
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  Serve with pasta, rice, mash potatoes, veggies… whatever you choose, and do not forget that yummy sauce. Enjoy.
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  Keep the faith, and keep cooking.
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