America's Test Kitchen LogoCook's Country LogoCook's Illustrated LogoAmerica's Test Kitchen LogoCook's Country LogoCook's Illustrated Logo

Chicken Sauce Piquant

By Matthew Fairman

Published on October 10, 2017

Time

1¾ hours

Yield

Serves 6 to 8

Chicken Sauce Piquant

Ingredients

½ cup all-purpose flour 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and quartered3 ½ teaspoons Louisiana seasoning 5 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 onion, chopped1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped1 celery rib, chopped2 garlic cloves, minced1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes 3 cups chicken broth 2 slices bacon 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1 bay leaf 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce, plus extra for servingSalt and pepper 4 cups cooked rice 4 scallions, sliced thin

Before You Begin

Louisiana seasoning is typically a mix of paprika, garlic powder, thyme, cayenne, celery salt, oregano, salt, and black pepper. The test kitchen’s taste test winner is Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Place flour in large bowl. Season chicken with 1 tablespoon Louisiana seasoning. Transfer chicken to bowl with flour and toss to coat.
  2. Heat 1/4 cup oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Shaking off excess flour, add half of chicken to pot and cook until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side; transfer to plate. Repeat with remaining chicken. Reserve remaining flour.
  3. Add onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, remaining 1/2 teaspoon Louisiana seasoning, remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and reserved flour to now-empty pot. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are just softened, about 5 minutes.
  4. Stir in tomatoes, broth, bacon, Worcestershire, and bay leaf, scraping up any browned bits. Nestle chicken into pot and add any accumulated juices. Bring to simmer, cover, and transfer to oven. Cook until chicken is tender, about 45 minutes.
  5. Remove pot from oven. Discard bacon and bay leaf, stir in Tabasco, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice, sprinkled with scallions, passing extra Tabasco separately.

Chicken Sauce Piquant

Save

Time

1¾ hours

Yield

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

½ cup all-purpose flour
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and quartered
3 ½ teaspoons Louisiana seasoning
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
3 cups chicken broth
2 slices bacon
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce, plus extra for serving
Salt and pepper
4 cups cooked rice
4 scallions, sliced thin

Ingredients

½ cup all-purpose flour
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and quartered
3 ½ teaspoons Louisiana seasoning
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
3 cups chicken broth
2 slices bacon
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce, plus extra for serving
Salt and pepper
4 cups cooked rice
4 scallions, sliced thin

Ingredients

½ cup all-purpose flour
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and quartered
3 ½ teaspoons Louisiana seasoning
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
3 cups chicken broth
2 slices bacon
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce, plus extra for serving
Salt and pepper
4 cups cooked rice
4 scallions, sliced thin

Why This Recipe Works

If you’re not from Louisiana, you may not know chicken sauce piquant, a dish of chicken braised in a cayenne-spiked, roux-thickened tomato sauce and served over rice. We wanted a version of this homey, spicy dish that was fit to travel to homes all over the country. We turned to boneless chicken thighs for flavorful, juicy, and meltingly tender meat. Happily, we found that we could skip the laborious process of making a dark roux by simply dredging our Louisiana-spiced chicken in flour and frying it until it was deep golden brown. To the tomato sauce, we added a splash of Worcestershire sauce, a glug of Tabasco, and a couple of slices of bacon, which perfumed the dish with rich, meaty smokiness.

Before You Begin

Louisiana seasoning is typically a mix of paprika, garlic powder, thyme, cayenne, celery salt, oregano, salt, and black pepper. The test kitchen’s taste test winner is Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Place flour in large bowl. Season chicken with 1 tablespoon Louisiana seasoning. Transfer chicken to bowl with flour and toss to coat.
  2. Heat 1/4 cup oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Shaking off excess flour, add half of chicken to pot and cook until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side; transfer to plate. Repeat with remaining chicken. Reserve remaining flour.
  3. Add onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, remaining 1/2 teaspoon Louisiana seasoning, remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and reserved flour to now-empty pot. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are just softened, about 5 minutes.
  4. Stir in tomatoes, broth, bacon, Worcestershire, and bay leaf, scraping up any browned bits. Nestle chicken into pot and add any accumulated juices. Bring to simmer, cover, and transfer to oven. Cook until chicken is tender, about 45 minutes.
  5. Remove pot from oven. Discard bacon and bay leaf, stir in Tabasco, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice, sprinkled with scallions, passing extra Tabasco separately.

Gift This Recipe

Enjoyed this dish? Let others know by sharing it as a gift recipe.

This is a members' feature.