the best chicken I've ever made
and honey, I've made a lot of chicken!!!
I’m gonna be honest with you. This recipe is… involved. It’s not HARD, but it is involved. Somewhere in there is a metaphor about having a positive outlook and believing in yourself, but as we’ve covered extensively in this newsletter, as of late, the sun is setting before 5 pm, and as such, I’m not interested in thinking too hard.
What I am interested in is delicious chicken with crispy skin and a briny, spicy, citrusy sauce that you can literally sip as a soup if you so choose (I so choose).
This chicken came to me in a dream. And by a dream, I mean in a cold sweat on day three of a five-day fast, where I was literally salivating at the thought of chewing real food again. Why was I on a five-day fast, you ask? Well, no offense, but that’s none of your business! (But, if you must know, I was doing it because I’m an idiot baby who was determined to prove I had some semblance of self-control left in my body. Did it work? Jury’s still out on that one!)
I’d planned for this chicken to be what I broke my fast with. Instead, I broke it with a huge vodka soda and two candy canes. It’s the holidays!! Then I had some noodles. A pizza. Candy, a big salad, katsu, a pasta thing, corned beef hash with two over-easy eggs, table cakes (those are communal pancakes you order for the table), and a few other things over the course of the next few days. (I guess this answers the self-control question!) Then, two weeks later, I made this chicken.
Like I said, it’s involved. It has several components and maybe a little ~technique~ involved, but I promise and swear it’s nothing you can’t do. I also promise and swear it’s very, extremely worth it in the end.
I served it over top of short-grain white rice. You can do that too. It would also be great with orzo or farro, couscous (I’d do pearl over the smaller variety, but that’s just me), or just with some big ol’ pieces of toasted sourdough. It could also be nice on its own with a simple green salad, but I think we all know that’s not what I’m going for here.
Alright, enough yammering, here it is!
braised chicken thighs with fennel and onion and orange
There are a couple of components to this dish. There’s the chicken and vegetables and sauce, which all come together in the same pan at basically the same time. Then there’s a vinegary quick pickled onion and fennel topper. If I were you, I’d make the topper first, so it has a little more time to pickle, but that’s just me!
braised chicken thighs with fennel and onion and orange: ingredients
6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2.5 lbs)
3 naval oranges, skinned and supremed (you could also use cara cara or valencia, but I’d avoid anything too far off from that)
2 medium fennel bulbs, quartered, fronds reserved for garnish
2 red onions, quartered
3-4 sprigs of rosemary
10-15 castelvetrano olives, pitted and torn (two things: 1. I prefer to buy olives with the pits and then remove them—they are firmer than buying pitted olives and stand up better when braising and 2. if you can’t find castelvetrano, I’d use kalamata olives, or two tablespoons of capers)
1/4 cup olive brine
1 cup white wine (pick something you’d want to drink while cooking because I think you should drink it while cooking!)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar (you could also use red wine or champagne vinegar, or really whatever vinegar you have around)
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes (adjust to your preferred spice level)
kosher salt
1 bunch of chives, sliced thin (this is honestly optional and for garnish, but I really love the subtle fresh flavor chives bring to the table here)
braised chicken thighs with fennel and onion and orange: method
Here’s the deal. You need to make a quick pickle. You need to supreme oranges. You need to pit and tear olives, brown chicken and fennel and onions. Take your time. Enjoy yourself! Pour a glass of wine, put on a good playlist, and just have fun.
Preheat your oven to 425, and make sure the rack is in the middle. (Look, what an easy start!)
Prep your vegetables. Quarter your fennel bulbs, leaving the root attached, reserving a few stalks and fronds if they have them. Quarter your red onion, leaving the root attached and discarding the outer layer of paper. Pit and tear your olives. Using the broad side of your chef’s knife, press down on each olive until it flattens, pull out the pit, and discard it. If there are any large pieces, tear them in half. (If you feel uncomfortable using a knife, you can also use the bottom of a measuring cup or bowl or literally anything flat.)
Prep your oranges. This is its own step because supreming is a whole thing! Start by using a vegetable peeler to peel off two big strips of the zest. Reserve those for use in the pickle! Next, using a sharp knife, cut off both ends of the orange, and then, slicing down and round the curve, remove the peel of the orange until only the flesh is left. Then, working in sections, slice in between each membrane to remove each orange segment. If you need a visual, this one is very helpful! Set aside 8-10 of the prettiest supremes for garnish, and reserve the carcasses to juice into the sauce.
Make the quick pickle. Slice the two reserved orange zest strips into thin pieces. Next, slice one fennel blub quarter and one red onion quarter as thin as humanly possible. I almost want to tell you to use a mandolin here, but I won’t do that. Just do your best. If you’ve got one or two fennel stalks, use those too! Mix the zest, fennel, and onion in a small bowl with two tablespoons of vinegar, a big pinch of kosher salt, and a little pinch of red pepper flake. It won’t all be submerged. That’s fine! Set it aside, and if you remember, toss it around occasionally while doing the rest of the cooking.
Salt the skin side of your chicken thighs and then set a large, deep, oven-safe pan over medium-high heat and add two tablespoons of olive oil. I used a 12-inch enameled cast iron, but you could also use a regular large cast iron or a dutch oven or whatever deep, oven-safe pan you have. Once the oil is shimmering, working in batches of three or four, place the thighs, skin side down, in the pan and cook for about five to six minutes until the skin is crispy and brown. While they’re cooking, salt the up-turned side, and once they’re browned, remove them from a pan and set aside. They’ll finish cooking in the oven.
Once the chicken is out, brown the fennel on each of the cut sides, about two minutes per side. Remove and do the same with the onions. You’re not looking to cook them through; just get some good color!
Add the wine, brine, and juice from the orange carcasses in the empty pan. (You’re looking for ~2 cups of liquid here—I add all the liquid to a glass measuring cup, and if you find you’re short, just make up the difference with a bit of water.) Using a utensil of your choice (I use a wooden spoon), scrape up from fond (little brown bits) and then stir in the red pepper flakes and a teaspoon of salt. Next, add the rosemary, olives, non-reserved orange supremes, then the onions and fennel. Next, nestle in the chicken thighs. The meat of the chicken should be submerged in the liquid, and the skin should be up and free to continue to brown. This is very important! You might need to move some things around—it’s okay if you need to pull some onions or fennel to rest on top of each other; just make sure the skin is clear!
Transfer the pan to the middle rack of the oven and roast it uncovered for 35 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let it cool for ten or so minutes. I think it’s nice to serve right out of the pan, but you do you! Garnish with the reserved orange supremes, quick pickle, and fennel fronds and chives if you’ve got ’em. Maybe a shower of flaky salt. Maybe a drizzle of finishing oil. Go wild! Live your dreams!
a little before and after!
And that’s it! Enjoy it with a lover or with a couple of friends (or a couple of lovers). Invite your ex over and show them what they’re missing. Scream out your window and see if a neighbor is hungry. Tell your mom you need help with something and surprise her by just having this on the table. Whatever you do, just finish that bottle of wine and be sweet to yourself.
xo,
G