CHICKEN THIGHS WITH WHITE WINE, HERB & CARAMELIZED SHALLOT PAN SAUCE

This past Friday, Mark and I were killing time at Barnes and Noble before seeing Nick and Nora's Infinate Playlist at the Landmark.  I was in the cookbook section (of course).  The selection is just what you'd expect from a big chain.  Very mainstream.  Lots of Ray Ray and Aunt Sandy.  Not a whole lot that was very interesting.  Strangely they had a lot of books on raw cooking and veganism.  I did come across one book that I had heard was out and was wanting to see.  It's called Two Dudes, One Pan and is written by a pair of local Los Angeles caterers/chefs named Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo.  You might remember them from a very short lived and ill-conceived show on Food Network called 2 Dudes Catering.  I never saw it and it would seem, no one else did either.  I have however been to parties that they've catered and recently they opened a restaurant in LA called Animal, which I LOVE and have written about before.  It's one of my favorite places right now.  Very rustic, local seasonal ingredients, lots of meat, perfect for carnivores and pig enthusiasts.  In fact they very cleverly find a way work bacon or one of it's derivatives into almost every dish.

Anyway, as one of their fans, I obviously had to have to cookbook.  The concept of the book is kind of good.  It's broken up into chapters based on cooking vessel, such as roasting pan, non-stick skillet, dutch oven, etc. and then features recipes that utilize said vessel.  All weekend long, in-between doing work on the house, I paged through the book trying to settle on a recipe to make.  Sunday was spent painting the dining room and as such, I wanted to do a recipe that wouldn't take all day or at least, wouldn't need to be marinated over night.  I settled on this, which according to the book, is a frequent family meal at the restaurant.  

INGREDIENTS

8 skin-on boneless chicken thighs

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons canola or grapeseed oil

2 shallots, thinly sliced

1 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

2/3 cup dry white wine (such as pinot grigio or savignon blanc)

1/3 cup water

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh marjoram, finely chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, finely chopped

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

METHOD

First season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.  

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers and is almost smoking.  Gently lay half the chicken in the pan, skin side down and cook until golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes.  

Flip the thighs and continue to cook for another 8 minutes until the other side is browned.  The chicken will be done when the juices run clear when pierced with a fork or the tip of a knife. 

Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate and set aside.  Repeat the above process with the remaining 4 thighs.

After the second round of thighs are done, add them to the plate with the others and then pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat left in the pan and discard.  Return the pan to the heat, add the shallots and cook, stirring often, until softened 2 to 3 minutes.  

Add the vinegar and simmer for 1 minute, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.  Add the wine and water and cook until the amount of liquid left in the pan is about 1/3 cup, 7 to 8 minutes.  I actually reduced mine a bit too much.  You want it to have body, but to still want it to be loose enough to pour.

Stir in the herbs, butter and season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  

To serve, mound something starchy on each plate, top with two pieces of chicken and spoon the sauce over.  

Chicken thighs have so much more flavor than the breast and it's much harder to over cook them and dry them out.  And then there's the skin, so crispy and salty.  It's kind of incredible how simply seasoning a piece of chicken with salt and pepper yields such intensely flavorful results.  The pan sauce, let's be honest, is pretty basic, classic.  However I love the combination of the parsley, thyme and marjoram.  The addition of the sherry vinegar adds another layer of tang that works well against the sweetness of the caramelized shallots.  Then the butter gives the sauce a silky richness.

I served the chicken with some olive oil mashed potatoes although you could also serve it with something equally starchy, like rice, couscous, or some other vegetable puree.  I wonder if it would be good with parsnip puree.  

This is one negative to this dish.  It's kind of a hellish mess to make.  As the chicken fries in the pan, oil splatters everywhere.  Seriously.  I had to mop afterward.  Before I make this again, I plan to get one of those mesh splatter screens, which my mother assures me, work very well.  I'd advice you to do the same.  But don't let that scare you off from making it.  The mess is worth it.

Serves 4

Comments

[Susan]

The splatter screens are life savers in the kitchen. Works wonders with marinara sauces, frying foods like this recipe, or any other item that likes to pop out of the pan.
This recipe looks delicious.

[Donald]

Always looking for a good recipe for chicken thighs. This one is on point.

You definitely need one (or more) splatter screens.

[Caryl Wilkinson]

Ordered you a set of (3) splatter guards, should
arrive 10/31.
From the kitchen fairy in
Cape.
We're going to try this
recipe with guard in hand!

[Cora]

Ran across your site this morning while researching roasted meats for an article. Great pics and recipes. Read your About Me and was amazed to see STL and Cape. I live nearby on IL side of river. Will be visiting you site again.

[[eatingclub] vancouver]

There's something about that crispy chicken skin peeking out from the shallots that calls to me. This looks yummy!

[Lisa]

Man, I gotta try this one, too. Love love love chicken thighs, although the ones I have in my freezer right now (from a local farm -- yay!) are not boneless (I'll just cook them longer). Must procure splatter screens; have been meaning to do that for, oh, 20 years or so.

[Laura]

Hi,

Long time fan of your site--so classy and such great pics! My friends LOVE the cocktails I make from here:)

Anyway, I forgot to get sherry vinegar and I wanted to try this recipe tonight. I have the wine. Can I sub anything for the sherry vin you think?

Thanks!
Laura

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