Braised Whole Chicken Recipes

BRAISED WHOLE CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F Season chicken inside and out with salt and pepper. In a large ovensafe saucepan or Dutch oven, heat oil on medium-high. Add chicken and brown, breast side down, 5-10 minutes. Turn over and brown second side. Transfer chicken to a platter. Add celery and onion and sauté 5 minutes. Add carrots and sauté another 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat.
• Place chicken, breast side down, overtop vegetables . Combine broth, water and vinegar and pour over chicken. Add potatoes to the pot, cover and braise 45 minutes. Turn chicken, breasts side up, cook another 10-15 minutes with lid off to brown.
• Remove chicken and vegetables from pan and keep warm. Skim fat from cooking liquid and discard. Carve chicken and place slices into shallow bowls, adding vegetables and broth. Garnish with fresh chives and serve.

BRAISED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients and heat the oven to 300 F.
• Dry the chicken well with paper towels and season generously with salt and pepper.
• Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook the bacon until it's crispy and the fat has rendered out. Remove and set aside.
• Add 1 breast (skin-side down), 1 thigh (skin-side down), 1 drumstick, and 1 wing. Brown the chicken for 4 to 5 minutes, then remove to a platter and repeat with the other 4 pieces. Finally, brown the backbone, skin-side down, and remove.
• Add the onion, leek , and garlic and sauté until the onion is translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the wine and boil, scraping any roasted bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the tomato paste.
• Return the chicken and bacon to the pot. Add the chicken stock or water. Season with salt (if needed). Add the rosemary and bay leaf and bring to a boil.
• Cover with a tight-fitting lid and transfer to the oven. Cook for one hour, or until an instant-read thermometer registers at least 165 F . Remove the lid and let the chicken cool in the pot for 15 minutes before serving.

BRAISED WHOLE CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Season chicken inside and out with salt and pepper.
• In a large ovensafe pot or Dutch oven, heat oil on medium-high. Add chicken and brown, breast side down, for 5 to 10 minutes. Turn over and brown second side. Transfer chicken to a platter. Add celery and onion to pot and sauté for 5 minutes. Add carrots and sauté for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Place chicken, breast side down, overtop vegetables in pot. Combine broth, water and vinegar and pour over chicken. Add potatoes, cover, and braise in oven for 45 minutes. Turn chicken, breast side up, and cook another 10 to 15 minutes with lid off to brown. Cook until a meat thermometer inserted in meatiest part of the thigh reads 82°C (180°F).
• Remove chicken and vegetables from pot and keep warm. Skim fat from cooking liquid and discard.
• Carve chicken and place slices into shallow bowls, adding vegetables and broth. Garnish with fresh chives and serve.

BRAISED ORANGE CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook chicken thighs in the hot oil until browned, about 5 minutes per side. Remove chicken thighs and set aside.
• Cook and stir onion in the same skillet until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Stir in tomatoes, orange juice, orange liqueur, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes until thoroughly combined.
• Return chicken thighs to the skillet, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until chicken is tender and no longer pink inside, 25 to 30 minutes.

CAL PETERNELL'S BRAISED CHICKEN LEGS

Steps:

• Season chicken legs with salt and pepper and let them sit for a while, 15 minutes to an hour, or overnight in the refrigerator.
• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a cup or two of flour in a large bowl, add half the chicken and tumble the legs around to coat.
• Set a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl in 2 tablespoons oil or butter and allow to melt and foam. Shake excess flour off the chicken legs and slide them into the hot pan in one layer; adjust the heat so the legs are sizzling nicely. When the legs begin to brown, after about 5 minutes, turn them over to brown the other side, an additional 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the chicken to a platter and repeat with remaining legs, adding more oil or butter if the pan seems dry.
• Pour off the grease in the pan and add the wine or other liquid to the skillet, scraping at the sticky bits. Let simmer over medium heat until pan is completely deglazed. Pour that liquid into a small bowl and set aside.
• Add remaining oil or butter to the pan and allow it to heat. Add onion, carrot, celery and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened nicely, approximately 10 minutes. Add garlic, thyme and bay leaf and cook for a minute or so, then return all the chicken to the pan, skin side up, along with the reserved glazing liquid and between 1 and 3 cups stock or water, enough to come up the sides of the chicken but not to get them swimming. Bring to a simmer and then put the skillet in the oven.
• After 5 minutes or so, reduce the oven heat to 325 degrees and cook until chicken is very tender, 30 to 40 minutes. (Test for doneness by inserting a slender-bladed knife into the meat. It should pull out easily.) Remove the skillet from the oven, lift the legs from the skillet and put them aside again. Pour the liquid contents of the skillet into a small bowl and allow it to sit for 5 minutes or so, letting the fat rise to the surface. Use a small ladle to skim off and discard the fat, then return liquid to the pan, along with the chicken. Bring back to a simmer on the stovetop, then return to the oven for 5 minutes or so before serving, sprinkled with the chopped parsley, or save to reheat later.

BRAISE-ROASTED CHICKEN WITH LEMON AND CARROTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Cut backbone from chicken using kitchen shears and save backbone for another use. Flip chicken, breast-side up, and forcefully press chicken down to flatten; season generously with salt.
• Heat olive oil in a large oven-safe cast iron skillet over medium-high heat; pan-fry chicken, skin-side down, until golden, 6 to 7 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate, skin-side up.
• Cook and stir onion in oil in the same skillet until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add beer, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Continue cooking until most of the beer is reduced, 2 to 4 minutes more. Stir chicken broth, carrots, lemon, rosemary, and thyme into beer mixture. Arrange chicken, skin-side up, over vegetables.
• Roast in the preheated oven until chicken is golden brown and crispy, about 50 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Transfer chicken and vegetables to a large platter and let rest, uncovered.
• Bring remaining broth and juices in the skillet to a boil and cook until sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes. Season sauce with salt.
• Slice chicken and serve with sauce.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH GARLIC AND WHITE WINE

Steps:

• Trim excess fat off chicken. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Lightly smash garlic cloves just to flatten slightly, leaving peel attached and cloves as whole as possible.
• Heat 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, add chicken and cook until brown on all sides, about 12 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken to plate. Add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and garlic to pot. Stir until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add wine and thyme; bring to boil. Return chicken to pot. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, moving chicken pieces from top to bottom every 5 minutes (sauce will not cover chicken), about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Transfer chicken to platter. Spoon garlic cloves around chicken and drizzle sauce over.

GARLIC-BRAISED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large Dutch oven over medium-high, add enough oil to lightly coat the bottom. Season the chicken with salt on both sides, then add to the pot skin side down. Cook until the skin turns golden and crispy, 8 to 10 minutes. If the skin browns too quickly, lower the heat. Flip, and sear the other side briefly, about 1 minute. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
• Add the garlic to the schmaltzy oil over medium-high, and stir until fragrant and very lightly golden at the edges, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the white pepper, then immediately add the wine and 1 cup water. Scrape up any stuck-on bits from the bottom of the pot while bringing the liquid to a simmer. Nestle the chicken in the pot skin side up, cover and cook in the oven until the chicken and garlic are meltingly tender, and the wine has reduced, about 1 hour. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt if needed. Serve with rice.

COUNTRY BRAISED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed braising pan over medium-high heat. Generously season both sides of chicken legs with salt and pepper. When the oil is slightly smoking, add chicken legs and brown, about 5 minutes per side.
• While chicken is browning, peel and chop the carrots; dice the celery and onion. (All the pieces should be about the same size.) Make sure the chicken is browning evenly on both sides.When the chicken is nicely browned, remove from the pan and set aside. Add vegetables to the pan, stir to combine, and reduce heat to medium. Next, peel and lightly smash the garlic; add to pan. Sweat the vegetables for 5 minutes, being careful not to brown. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
• Add tomato paste, raise the temperature to medium-high, and stir to incorporate; the tomato paste will begin to stick to the bottom of the pan as it browns. Deglaze pan with cognac in two additions (being careful for flare-ups!). Let the alcohol cook off until the pan is almost dry, stirring the vegetables and scraping down the sides of the pan to prevent burning. Add white wine and allow it to reduce. Add parsley, bay leaves, thyme, and rosemary to the pan; then spread the chicken pieces on top in an even layer. Pour in just enough chicken broth to cover the meat halfway without submerging. Bring to a simmer, then cover the pan and place in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes.
• Remove from oven and place chicken legs on a rimmed serving platter. Strain cooking liquid into a small saucepan, reserving vegetables. Over medium to high heat, reduce liquid at a simmer until it is thick enough to thinly coat a spoon. Taste, and adjust seasoning as needed. To plate: Place chicken on a plate and add some reserved vegetables. Pour reduced sauce generously over each serving. Garnish with torn parsley leaves and serve.

MEXICAN ROASTED OR BRAISED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Defrost the chicken, if necessary, and remove the neck, liver, giblets, and excess fat. Rinse if needed, then place in the pot. If you prefer a lower-fat version, you can remove the skin and most of the fat from the bird, but the flavor will suffer (you can always skim the fat from the cooking liquid, later).
• Preheat the oven to 320°F.
• In a small bowl, combine the achiote, comino (cumin), oregano, and lime juice, then use the back of a spoon to mash into a thick marinade or thin paste.
• Place some of the marinade in the chicken and work it around inside, then pour the rest over the chicken and cover the skin.
• If you are braising in the oven, you may need to add a 1/2 cup of water, depending on the type of bird. Try it the first time you make the recipe, and you can leave it out, later, if you don't want the additional liquid. You do NOT need to add the water, if you cook this in the a slow cooker.
• If the lid for your pot has any holes, or there are any gaps between the lid and pan (or crock), cover the lid with foil so it seals tightly.
• The chicken will need to cook 2 1/2-3 hours. Check the temperature at the thickest parts and remove when the chicken is done (approx 170, a bit lower, if you want to finish the chicken on the stove top). If you want to brighten up the dish a bit and restore a sour bite, add another 1/4 cup of lime juice a couple of minutes before serving.