Old Godmother Oven Braised Chicken Recipes

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.

OVEN-BRAISED CHICKEN STEW

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Cut each chicken thigh into 5 or 6 pieces. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil and butter in a 6-quart, oven-safe Dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned but not cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Remove chicken from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Add onions to the hot pot; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add carrots and celery; cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 more minute. Add mushrooms and cook for 1 minute. Add green beans and garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper to taste.
• Pour wine into the pot and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add chicken and any accumulated juices back to the pot. Pour in just enough chicken broth to barely cover everything in the pot. Sample broth and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Add rosemary sprigs, pressing them below the surface of the liquid.
• Cover and place in the center of the preheated oven. Bake until vegetables are tender and chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 30 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove rosemary sprigs.
• Place cornstarch in a small bowl and add just enough water to create a thin paste. Stir until all lumps are dissolved and slowly add to the stew, stirring constantly.
• Place stew on the stove and heat over medium heat. Cook and stir until gravy has thickened and desired consistency has been achieved, about 5 minutes.

EASY OVEN-BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering.
• Pat chicken dry and season generously with salt and pepper. Working in batches, place in the hot skillet, skin-side down. Cook until well browned but be sure not to burn, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook on the bottom side for 1 minute. Transfer to a 9x13-inch baking dish, skin-side up.
• Combine boiling water, garlic powder, and bouillon in a small bowl. Pour into the baking dish around (not over) the chicken until it comes about 1/3 of the way up the sides of the chicken; do not cover the chicken.
• Cover and bake in the preheated oven until chicken is no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, 60 to 75 minutes, uncovering and broiling for the last 5 minutes if possible. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
• Remove from the pan and let sit for at least 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

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 LEMON AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels. Season well with salt and pepper and place in an earthenware baking dish in one layer, skin side up. Sprinkle with red pepper, garlic, fennel and rosemary and drizzle with olive oil. Rub seasoning into thighs on all sides. Tuck lemon wedges here and there. Let marinate for 15 minutes. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Put baking dish in oven, uncovered, and roast until skin browns lightly, about 20 minutes. Scatter olives evenly over chicken and add broth. Cover tightly and bake for 1 hour, until meat is very tender when probed with a skewer.
• Remove thighs and lemon wedges and arrange on a platter. Keep warm. Pour pan juices into a saucepan and quickly skim fat from surface. Over high heat, simmer rapidly until reduced by half. Spoon juices over chicken, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

OVEN-BRAISED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Position rack in center of oven.Pre-heat oven at 350 degrees.
• Bring a 2-qt. saucepan of water to a boil. Drop in the onions and blanch them for 1 minute.
• Drain in a colander, then shower with cold water to stop the cooking.
• Peel the onions, leaving enough fo the root end intact.
• Season the chicken pieces generously with salt and pepper.
• In a straight-sided 10 inch ovenproof saute pan with a lid, heat oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Arrange the chicken pieces skin side down in the pan (it will be crowed), cover with a splatter screen.
• Cook until deeply browned, about 5 minutes. Turn pieces over and cook until other sides are deeply browned, 3-5 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to plate and pour out fat.
• Set pan over medium heat. Add onions, mushrooms, bacon and carrot to the pand and cook until the bacon is crisp and the vegetables are browned, 8-10 minutes.
• Add the wine ant thyme sprigs and bring to a boil, scraping the browned bits from the bottom.
• Boil unitl the wine has ruecued to 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes.
• Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.
• Return the chicken pieces to the pan and cover.
• Transfer to the oven and braise until the chicken is fork-tender and the drumstick meat starts to come away from the bone, about 45 to 50 minutes.
• With a slotted spoon, transfer everything to a serving dish and keep warm by covering loosely with foil.
• Discard the thyme sprigs.
• Skim off as much fat as possible from the sauce.
• Bring the sauce to a boil over medium high heat, then simmer until slightly thicken, about 5 minutes.
• Pour the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with thyme leaves and serve.

GRANDMA'S BAKED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°.
• In a small bowl, combine the goat cheese, rosemary and lemon peel; set aside. Using a small sharp knife, cut into the side of each chicken breast half to create a pocket. Stuff each chicken breast with about 1 1/2 tablespoons goat cheese mixture and secure with a toothpick.
• In a shallow bowl, whisk the eggs and set aside. Place the bread crumbs in another shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add half the melted butter to the bread crumbs and combine. Keep the remaining butter warm for basting.
• Cover a baking sheet with foil. Dip each stuffed chicken breast in the egg and then in the bread crumbs to coat; set on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until cooked through, about 45 minutes, drizzling with the remaining butter every 15 minute.

EDNA LEWIS'S OVEN-BRAISED SOUTHWEST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Cut the chicken into serving pieces, or have the butcher do so. Heat a nonstick skillet over a high flame and sear the chicken on all sides, but do not brown. This will keep the skin from seizing up during the baking. Set aside on paper towels.
• Drain the hominy in a sieve, rinse it and drain it again. Spoon into a 3-quart casserole with a lid. Arrange the chicken pieces on top.
• Layer the onion, bell pepper, carrot, shiitakes and jalapenos on top. Sprinkle with the cumin, then crumble the oregano over. Season with pepper and place bay leaf on top. Pour the vermouth into the casserole, cover and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until cooked through.
• When the chicken is cooked, remove from the oven and discard the bay leaf. Add the cilantro and cream (if you like) to the casserole and mix to combine all the ingredients in the casserole. Season with salt to taste. Serve the chicken pieces with the hominy mixture alongside and spoon the juices over.

MOM'S OLD FASHIONED FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Put the flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a brown paper bag. One by one, coat the chicken parts with mixture.
• In a large skillet, fry the chicken in 1 inch of hot oil until golden brown. Remove the chicken from the pan and drain the oil.
• Put the chicken back into the pan and cover the pieces with cooking sherry. Cover the pan and reduce to simmer. Let simmer for 20 minutes. Serve.