Braised Chicken with Beer

I was watching Food Network the other day, and I saw this braised chicken. It looked amazing, and I couldn’t wait to try it out. It was pretty delicious! The sauce was sweet and flavorful, and the chicken was tender and juicy. The crispy bacon gave the whole dish some crunch. It is a great dish with rice. I served the chicken with garlic toasted rice. Bryan and I couldn’t stop eating. The leftover was even better after the flavors being soaked up for a night. Hmm… I may just make this again next week!

Braised Chicken with Beer (Adapted from Claire Robinson)

2 – 3 servings

Ingredients:

–   1 ½ lb chicken thighs

–   3 slices thick cut applewood bacon

–   1 large onion (thinly chopped)

–   1 clove garlic (finely chopped)

–   1 12oz bottle dark beer

–   4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

–   salt

–   ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚F. For the chicken, pat them dry and season with salt and pepper.
2. In a Dutch oven or ovenproof large pot over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until browned and crispy. Take out the bacon and dry them with paper towels. Do not remove the bacon fat from the pot. When the bacons are cooled, crumble them into small pieces. Set aside.
3. With the remaining bacon fat in the pot, sear the chicken on all sides over medium-high heat. Cook until the chicken is brown and crispy on the outside. Remove the chicken and set aside.
4. Add the chopped onions to the pot and cook over low heat. Season with salt and pepper, and saute until caramelized and tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the beer and bring to a simmer. Place the chicken thighs back into the pot with the skin side down. Cover the pot with lid or aluminum foil, and cook for 35 – 45 minutes, flipping the chicken over after 20 minutes.
5. Return the pot back to the stove. Carefully remove the chicken and place them on a serving plate. Skim the excess fat. Add the vinegar to the sauce and simmer to reduce and thicken the sauce, about 5 – 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and adjust to your own taste. Pour the sauce over the chicken thighs, and top with the bacon. Serve immediately.

Tips:

1. Instead of using a dark beer, I used amber ale.
2. The original recipe uses fennel. I couldn’t find fennel that day, so I used onions. It was perfectly fine.

Source: Read