White Wine Braised Chicken With Mushrooms and Bacon

This sauce. I mean, come on. Bacon, mushrooms, wine and heavy cream. Are we dieting? No. Are we loving every damn second of licking the plate clean to get the last of this heavenly sauce? Yes indeed.

White Wine Braised Chicken with Mushrooms and Bacon

Serves: 6

Active Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
• 5 slices thick cut bacon
• 8 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary leaves
• 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp. cornstarch (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Heat a cast iron skillet or oven proof skillet over medium-high heat.

2. Cut bacon into 1/2 inch slices. Add bacon to the heated skillet and cook until crisp. Set aside. Drain all excess fat except 1 tbsp. Heat remaining fat over medium high heat.

3. Using tongs, add the chicken thighs to the skillet, skin side down. Cook chicken without moving until the skin is a deep golden brown and the chicken can be removed without sticking to the skillet (about 4-5 minutes.) Flip the chicken and cook the other side until it is also golden brown and crispy (about 3 minutes.) Remove the chicken and set aside.

4. Add the mushrooms to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally until the mushrooms have released most of their liquid (about 8 minutes.) Add the onion and garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute.)

5. Next, add the thyme, rosemary and butter and cook until the butter has melted. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly for about 30 seconds.

6. Add the white wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the bacon and chicken back into the skillet. Arrange the chicken skin side up so that the skin is not submerged in the sauce.

7. Cover the pan and transfer to the oven to cook for 20 minutes. Then, remove the lid and cook for an additional 20 minutes until the chicken is tender and falling off of the bone. Remove the skillet from the oven and transfer back to a burner over medium-high heat.

8. Add the heavy cream and cook until slightly thickened (about 1 minute.) If you want to thicken the sauce further, whisk together 1 tbsp. cornstarch with 1 tbsp. cold water to create a slurry. Slowly add this to the sauce and continue heating over high heat for another minute.

Burgundy Pinot Noir

MY RECOMMENDATION:

Louis Jadot Bourgogne Pinot Noir

WHY IT WORKS:

• Burgundy is the Jennifer Aniston of wine. It's classy, sexy and extremely versatile.
• Burgundy is not a type of grape, but rather a region in France.
• Burgundy and pinot noir are synonymous. All red wine that comes out of Burgundy, France is going to be pinot noir.
• Burgundy wines are some of the most expensive in the world, so be sure to check the price tag before you snag a bottle. The wine that I recommended is really good for a medium price point. This is a good one to get your feet wet with Burgundy wines.
• This wine has notes of strawberry, cherries and red fruit, but it also has depth with earthy and mushroom notes. I love this wine with the braised chicken because the mushroom notes of the wine enhance the rich sauce.