Here’s an easy and quick way to make some tasty chicken without a lot of work.
- Salt and pepper some cut up chicken pieces. I like to use thighs or drumsticks for the dark meat which will hold up to the long cooking times. White meat will dry out and fall apart. Bone in is also better.
- Add about 1 tbs of olive oil to a Dutch Oven.
- Brown the chicken in the oil over medium high heat until browned on both sides. Don’t try to cook too much chicken at a time or it will start to steam instead of brown. Remove pieces and add new pieces as they finish cooking.
- When all of the chicken is finished, remove the chicken fat leaving about 1 tbs. Try not to remove the brown bits on the bottom of the pot when you are doing this.
- Add some chopped up mushrooms and heat over medium high heat until they start to soften.
- Add a bottle of red wine and deglaze the pot melting all of the brown goodness in the bottom. I used a decent wine that I wasn’t too crazy about drinking. NEVER use the cooking wine you find in the grocery store. I don’t know what that stuff is for, but it’s definitely not for cooking.
- Add a bag of frozen pearl onions.
- Season with tarragon (the aristocrat of herbs) and some parsley. Add one can of tomato paste and a little more salt and pepper.
- Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven for about one hour.
- Voila!
