Braised chicken thighs are delicious, and super easy. I'm not one to watch the stove; if I do it is to figure out how best to fit my head in the oven (if reading this blog were a drinking game, you take a shot right now and every other time I mention sticking my head in the oven).
I find braising to be the most forgiving method of cooking protein, and the best way to infuse the protein with flavor from the get-go. Braising meat tenderizes cheaper cuts and adds flavor to less flavorful cuts. Think of it as stew. Basically, it's the shit and you can't fuck it up.
Regarding white meat, I honestly don't see any reason to eat white meat unless you are a child or have the palate of one. The exceptions here are when the white meat is roasted or brined, or both, but that is a separate entry (my philosophy holds true with pork too. brine that shit. pig don't taste as good as it used to). If I feel like making chicken at home, it will most likely be using this method, using chicken thighs, boneless/skinless:
Season protein with salt and pepper on both sides. Brown on both sides over medium-high heat in a pan with a tight-fitting lid with a little bit of fat (olive oil, butter, goose fat, bacon fat, whatever you feel like), remove from pan. turn heat down, add sauté ingredients and sauté, deglaze pan with liquid (stock, water, wine, whatever you feel like), bring to boil, add protein back to pan, cover, turn heat to low, and let it do its magic for about an hour (you want enough braising liquid to almost cover the protein). After an hour or so, take the protein out, cover, and reduce braising liquid till it's the consistency you want (till it looks like sauce), taste, adjust seasoning, and plate.
Tonight I wanted something really homey and delicious. I remembered a recipe from
Gourmet (RIP) I made a couple years ago for chicken with vinegar sauce. Apparently vinegar sauce was a big haute cuisine trend back in the day (60s? 70s?) but really all it tastes like is fancy sweet and sour pork OR delicious, tangy ketchup. After browning the chicken, I sautéed a small dice of
carrot and
garlic (I didn't have
onions or
shallots or I would have used that too, maybe even some
ginger and
fresh chilies) till soft, added some
tomato paste and a bit of
harissa (could just as easily be
Tabasco® or
Siracha or
red chili flake) for another minute, deglazed pan with some
red wine,
balsamic vinegar, and a bit of
white vinegar (just plain ol' nasty white vinegar, like the kind you clean with), reduced it a lil' bit, added
chicken stock, some
agave (or
sugar, or
honey, or
maple syrup). After it's boiling return chicken parts to pan, cover, lower heat, and simmer for an hour. Pull chicken out. Reduce liquid in pan till it's saucy. Season to taste (I always, ALWAYS add a tiny bit of acid to whatever I am cooking immediately before serving. It really does brighten the flavors) Serve.
I ate the chicken, as I do most things at home, over white short-grain rice (ie Japanese rice. Japanese do not eat brown rice. Brown rice is for poor people. Period. I don't give a fuck about health benefits. White rice. Also, new studies are showing that white flour, white rice, etc. contain another beneficial kind of fiber that is more of a thickener than a mover-througher, which makes me feel better. It's like Jell-O®).
Delicious. Sweet, sour, salty, mmm. I don't know why we as a culture don't embrace that combo more. Sweet, sour, salty=good. This recipe is also really similar to a traditional Jamaican chicken preparation the name of which is escaping me, and I lost my Jamaican cookbook. Point being, this is comfort food, whichever culture you are indulging in.
