Braised means comfort in our books
This braised chicken was so good! There’s something rich and comforting about braised meats! I have a lot less bread these days because of my diabetes diagnoses, but if there’s ever a time when I crave it a little extra, it’s with meals like this. Oh the saucy goodness.
Remember those braised beef short ribs and the braised pork ribs we posted a while back? They were killer! Well, trust me when I tell you that this chicken recipe is just as good!
It takes a bit of time, but it’s easy
Nothing in this recipe is difficult. Once you’ve browned the chicken and sautéed the veggies, the last hour is work-free. You just let it cook while you do your own thing… like go down the social media rabbit hole, like I did. 😂
Tips to make your life even easier (and less messy)
- Twelve chicken thighs may not seem like much, but you’ll need the space, so use a large pan. I used a 12″ deep pan for this recipe with twelve thighs. However, if you don’t have a large pan, or just prefer to make less, cut the recipe in half and use a smaller pan.
- Pat down your chicken before browning it. This will greatly reduce the splatter once the chicken hits the hot oil.
- Even when the chicken is dry, it’ll still splatter a little, so I recommend using a splatter screen.
Cook with leftovers in mind
The braised chicken and sauce taste even better the next day. Who doesn’t love that kind of magic. I recommend making the full portion of twelve thighs, if you can, then pack up what’s left for work lunches or use it as leftovers the next day so you can give yourself and your kitchen a break.
Today’s braised meat meal was inspired by…
Well… it was inspired by another braised meat dish I had recently. We met up with some friends for dinner at Joia on Main, a great Italian Restaurant in Newmarket, Ontario. I enjoyed a plate of braised veal shanks (aka Osso Buco).
I left the restaurant with braised meat in my belly and on my mind. On the way home, we made a quick stop at a local grocery store where I picked up chicken thighs, and for a little extra flavour and kick, a package of spicy Portuguese chouriço. Liz thought I was strange for already craving our next dinner so soon after we left the restaurant where we’d just finished having dinner. I guess I always have recipes on the brain.
This is why I love cooking so much. You watch a show, chat with a friend, or visit a good restaurant, and boom, inspiration happens!
We hope you get inspired by this recipe or another favourite meal, and make today yummy!
Yummy braised chicken thighs with chouriço
Ingredients
- 12 medium (about 3.86 lbs or 1.75 kg) chicken thighs, bone in and skin on
- 0.66 lbs or 0.3 kg Portuguese chouriço cut into large round bite-sized pieces
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 medium cooking onion diced
- 2 celery stocks chopped
- 1 large carrot cut in half moons
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp ground thyme
- 1 tsp ground sage
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup dry white wine use one that you’d enjoy drinking
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 13.46 fl oz or 398 ml diced tomatoes (1 can)
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup roasted red peppers (one large roasted pepper), sliced in long strips. I used jared peppers to keep it easy.
- Fresh flat leaf Italian parsley , chopped, about 1/4 cup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
- Heat the vegatable oil on medium high in a large deep heavy pan or dutch oven.
- Pat dry the chicken thighs on both sides using paper towels.
- Season the chicken with 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of black pepper.
- Brown the chicken thighs in the oil, starting with the skin side down. About 4 minutes per side. I did this in two batches to avoid over-crowding in the pan.
- Set the chicken thighs aside.
- In the same pan, add and brown the chouriço slices. Set aside.
- Reduce the temperature to medium.
- Add to the same pan the onions, celery, carrots, garlic, thyme, sage, bay leaf, and the remaining salt and pepper.
- Cook the veggies until the onions are translucent. About 4 minutes.
- Add the wine to deglaze. Scrape all the bits from the bottom of the pan at this stage. It’s all flavour!
- Add the tomato paste, mix well and cook for about two minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the diced tomatoes and chicken broth, and stir until all the ingredients are well combined.
- Place the chicken thighs back in the pan in one layer.
- Add the chouriço pieces around the chicken.
- Add the slices of roasted red pepper evenly around the chicken and chouriço.
- Cover and place the pan in the oven.
- Cook for 1 hour.
- Remove the pan from the oven, uncover and sprinkle the chopped parsly evenly over the chicken.
- Enjoy with your favourite sides! I served ours with basmati rice for the family, and I had mine with quinoa.
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