Description
Back at it with another down-home favorite.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 whole broiler chicken (about 5 lbs), cut into 8–10 pieces
- 3–4 C chicken broth, as needed
- 1 1/2 C half-and-half
- 1/2 C all-purpose flour
- 1/4 C vegetable oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
- 1 tbsp poultry seasoning
- 1 1/2 tsp browning, divided
- 1 tsp kosher salt, to taste
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 tsp celery seed
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Add the chicken to a large mixing bowl, and pour in the poultry seasoning and one teaspoon of browning. Use your hands to work the seasoning and sauce into the pieces, then cover and set aside to marinate for 15-30 minutes.
- Place a large skillet or saute pan with high sides over medium-high heat. Add three tablespoons of unsalted butter along with a drizzle of vegetable oil – no more than a teaspoon or so – and stir them together to coat the surface of the pan. When the butter has completely melted and has started to bubble, add your chicken skin side down in a single layer. Don’t crowd the pan – go in batches if you need to. Sear until well-browned, for about 3-5 minutes, then flip and sear the other side. Once all of the chicken is seared, transfer it to a plate or bowl to rest while you build the roux.
- Add the remaining butter to the pan and let it melt. Add the diced onion and saute until they’re softened and starting to become translucent – about 7 minutes or so. Then, stir in the minced garlic and let that cook for another 2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Sprinkle the flour over the top of the aromatics, give a little stir. You’re not trying to combine the flour with the garlic and onions, just let some of the flour cook a bit. Stir it around as best you can for a couple of minutes. After 3 minutes, or whenever you start to smell the flour cooking, continue on to the next step.
- Add the remaining vegetable oil to the pan and stir together. I like to switch from a spoon or spatula to a roux whisk – you’ll need to be using a pan safe for metal utensils if you follow suit – to really work them together, but a spatula works fine, too.
- When the flour and oil have combined into a roux go ahead and add in the remaining browning. This will darken the color without standing over the stove for 15 minutes, stirring, but you can opt to do that instead. Once the roux is a caramel color, go ahead and whisk in 3 cups of chicken broth. Don’t fret if the roux seems to suck it all up and the gravy is thick, it’ll loosen as we add more liquid. After the three cups of chicken broth have been incorporated, whisk in all of the half-and-half. Once you’ve done that, how do you feel about the consistency? If it’s too thick, go ahead and start whisking in the remaining chicken broth about 1/4 of a cup at a time, until you’re happy with it.
- Now, add the celery seed, garlic powder, and black pepper to the gravy. Taste and add kosher salt if needed.
- Add the seared chicken back to the pan. Try to submerge all the pieces completely. Cover and reduce the heat to medium low. Let simmer, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes, or until the chicken is completely cooked through. Dassit. Enjoy!
