To develop a bone-in chicken breast recipe that produced moist meat, crisp skin, and a quick pan sauce, we turned to pan roasting, where the chicken is browned in a skillet on the stovetop and then slid, skillet and all, into a very hot oven to finish cooking.
This method helped to protect the delicate white meat, which doesn’t have a lot of fat, from drying out. The chicken was added skin side down in a smoking hot skillet, where it formed a gorgeous brown crust and produced plenty of fond.
After lightly browning the second side of the chicken, we moved the skillet to an oven at 450 F where the chicken roasted for just 15 minutes. While the chicken rested, we used the browned bits left in the pan to make a flavorful pan sauce. You will need a 12-inch oven-safe skillet for this recipe. If using kosher chicken, do not brine. If brining the chicken, do not season with salt in first step.
PAN-ROASTED CHICKEN BREASTS WITH SHALLOT-THYME SAUCE
Servings: 4
Start to finish: 1 hour
Chicken:
4 (12-ounce) bone-in split chicken breasts, trimmed, brined if desired
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Sauce:
1 large shallot, minced
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup dry vermouth or white wine
2 sprigs fresh thyme
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces and chilled
Salt and pepper
Nutrition information per serving: 280 calories; 134 calories from fat; 15 g fat (6 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 109 mg cholesterol; 360 mg sodium; 2 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 1 g sugar; 27 g protein.
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