Weeknight Chicken
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 6, 2013
Time
1 hour
Yield
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Use any combination of white and dark meat. For even cooking, halve breasts crosswise and separate leg quarters into thighs and drumsticks.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Whisk 2 tablespoons broth and cornstarch in small bowl until no lumps remain; reserve. Combine remaining broth, wine, garlic, and thyme in large measuring cup.
- Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Heat oil in large ovensafe skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken, skin side down, until well browned, 6 to 10 minutes. Flip and cook until lightly browned on second side, about 2 minutes.
- Slowly pour broth mixture into skillet and bring to boil. Transfer skillet to oven and roast until white meat registers 160 degrees and dark meat registers 175 degrees, 12 to 18 minutes. Transfer chicken to platter and tent with aluminum foil. Discard garlic.
- Pour pan juices into liquid measuring cup; skim and discard fat. Return 1½ cups defatted pan juices to now-empty skillet and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until sauce is reduced to 1 cup, 5 to 7 minutes. Add reserved cornstarch mixture and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Off heat, whisk in butter. Season with salt and pepper. Serve, passing sauce at table.
Time
1 hourYield
Serves 4 to 6Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Stealing an idea from the restaurant industry, we started our Weeknight Chicken in a skillet to give it a good sear and a head start on crisp skin. Adding a little chicken broth to the pan before finishing the chicken in the oven acted as a buffer and prevented the white meat from drying out and the skin from burning. We cranked the oven temperature to speed up the cooking time and ensure that the skin didn’t become too soggy from sitting in the chicken broth. It also reduced the chicken broth, which became the base for a flavorful pan sauce.
Before You Begin
Use any combination of white and dark meat. For even cooking, halve breasts crosswise and separate leg quarters into thighs and drumsticks.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Whisk 2 tablespoons broth and cornstarch in small bowl until no lumps remain; reserve. Combine remaining broth, wine, garlic, and thyme in large measuring cup.
- Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Heat oil in large ovensafe skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken, skin side down, until well browned, 6 to 10 minutes. Flip and cook until lightly browned on second side, about 2 minutes.
- Slowly pour broth mixture into skillet and bring to boil. Transfer skillet to oven and roast until white meat registers 160 degrees and dark meat registers 175 degrees, 12 to 18 minutes. Transfer chicken to platter and tent with aluminum foil. Discard garlic.
- Pour pan juices into liquid measuring cup; skim and discard fat. Return 1½ cups defatted pan juices to now-empty skillet and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until sauce is reduced to 1 cup, 5 to 7 minutes. Add reserved cornstarch mixture and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Off heat, whisk in butter. Season with salt and pepper. Serve, passing sauce at table.
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