By Sam Sifton
- Total Time
- 1 hour 30 minutes
- Rating
- 5(2,608)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Here is a pleasant, delicious family meal adapted from the California chef Cal Peternell’s excellent home-cooking manifesto, “Twelve Recipes,” published in 2014 by HarperCollins. There are two steps to the process, which as Mr. Peternell points out can lead to endless improvisation. First, season the chicken and brown it well in a pan. Salt, pepper and flour are what’s called for in this basic recipe, but adding some paprika would be a delicious option, or some cumin, coriander, paprika and a dash of cinnamon and caraway for a scent of Morocco. Then, braise it in liquid — white wine for the classic, red wine for a coq-au-vin feel, or with beer, chicken stock or plain water. Mr. Peternell does his braising in the oven, but you could easily do it on the stovetop as well, simmering the chicken slowly beneath a lid. Pair with rice or boiled potatoes, with couscous, with big hunks of garlic bread.
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Ingredients
Yield:6 servings
- 6chicken legs, thigh and drumstick together
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- All-purpose flour, for dredging
- 4 to 5tablespoons neutral oil, or unsalted butter
- ¾cup white or red wine, beer, chicken stock or water
- 1large yellow onion, peeled and diced
- 1large carrot, peeled and diced
- 2celery stalks, diced
- 2cloves garlic, peeled and diced
- 3sprigs of thyme, rosemary or sage, leaves removed and roughly chopped
- 1bay leaf
- 3cups chicken stock, or water
- 2tablespoons roughly chopped parsley leaves
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
578 calories; 33 grams fat; 12 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 49 grams protein; 1081 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Season chicken legs with salt and pepper and let them sit for a while, 15 minutes to an hour, or overnight in the refrigerator.
Step
2
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a cup or two of flour in a large bowl, add half the chicken and tumble the legs around to coat.
Step
3
Set a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl in 2 tablespoons oil or butter and allow to melt and foam. Shake excess flour off the chicken legs and slide them into the hot pan in one layer; adjust the heat so the legs are sizzling nicely. When the legs begin to brown, after about 5 minutes, turn them over to brown the other side, an additional 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the chicken to a platter and repeat with remaining legs, adding more oil or butter if the pan seems dry.
Step
4
Pour off the grease in the pan and add the wine or other liquid to the skillet, scraping at the sticky bits. Let simmer over medium heat until pan is completely deglazed. Pour that liquid into a small bowl and set aside.
Step
5
Add remaining oil or butter to the pan and allow it to heat. Add onion, carrot, celery and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened nicely, approximately 10 minutes. Add garlic, thyme and bay leaf and cook for a minute or so, then return all the chicken to the pan, skin side up, along with the reserved glazing liquid and between 1 and 3 cups stock or water, enough to come up the sides of the chicken but not to get them swimming. Bring to a simmer and then put the skillet in the oven.
Step
6
After 5 minutes or so, reduce the oven heat to 325 degrees and cook until chicken is very tender, 30 to 40 minutes. (Test for doneness by inserting a slender-bladed knife into the meat. It should pull out easily.) Remove the skillet from the oven, lift the legs from the skillet and put them aside again. Pour the liquid contents of the skillet into a small bowl and allow it to sit for 5 minutes or so, letting the fat rise to the surface. Use a small ladle to skim off and discard the fat, then return liquid to the pan, along with the chicken. Bring back to a simmer on the stovetop, then return to the oven for 5 minutes or so before serving, sprinkled with the chopped parsley, or save to reheat later.
Ratings
5
out of 5
2,608
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Cooking Notes
Gayle
Is this covered for the last 30-40 mins in the oven?
Matthew
I used just chicken thighs and used 1 cup of red wine. At the end, I made a change: after removing the chicken, I strained the liquid, squeezing all the juice from the mirepoix. I brought the liquid back to the boil and whisked in a rue of 2 Tbls unsalted butter and 2 Tbls flour. This made the sauce a bit thicker and the extra butter made the sauce smoother. It was delicious.
Jacqueline
This is very similar in taste to chicken fricassee, a childhood favorite. Easiest to make in big Le Creuset dutch oven, don't bother with oven (unless you want crispy skin, then stick with the oven instructions). For simplicity sake you could also just add the wine to the left over fat, instead of taking out in step 4, and skip thyme chopping in favor of adding a bouquet garni: maybe 10 stems of parsley and least 5 or 6 thyme sprigs, 2 to 3 bay leaves - and drop in liquid in step 5.
Cindi
Made this a few days ago and Oh my goodness, best chicken I've ever made and ever tasted. I was hungry for a nice baked chicken dish but wanted the juices too...this was the perfect answer and is going into my weekly rotation. I used homeade chicken stock, which I feel always makes any dish better. Didn't even use wine...it was scrumptious...and company worthy. Will make over and over again.
Ann
To get rid of fat, pour cooking liquid into a bowl, dump ice cubes on top, the grease will solidify and be easy to remove.
Marian V.
I seasoned the chicken and left it in the refrigerator for 24 hours. I think that made a huge difference. I only had water for braising liquid and it made the most delicious sauce. I increased the amount of onion, carrot and celery so that they served as a vegetable side.
Chicagowriter
Uncovered. That's why the skin gets crispy.
amy
Some of us didn't know so I guess Cal put it in writing for the heathens like me
Toni Espòsito
I don't quite understand what makes this "Cal Peternell's" recipe. This is the way people have been braising chicken since we stopped eating dodo.
Barb
This was outstanding. I used white wine and really good chicken legs and thighs. My guests raved. Paired it with another NY Times recipe, Coconut Rice with Peas, and some roasted veggies as a side. Leftovers are now simmering away and combined with other ingredients to make soup.
Katie
Thinking of making this for company - any suggestions as to how best to reheat it if I made the dish in advance?
William Wroblicka
No, it is not covered. You want the top side of the chicken exposed to the dry heat of the oven to crisp the skin. Covering it would steam the chicken rendering the skin flaccid and flabby.
Jeanne
I love this recipe. The cooking technique offers both a saucy chicken that's full of flavor and a crisp skin. Usually very hard to achieve.
I first made this with the Moroccan seasoning suggestion, adding more carrot and small potatoes to the vegs under the chicken and serving over couscous. Terrific.
I followed the simpler seasoning and used it as a cooking lesson for my future son-in-law. Also excellent and a good way to illustrate a lot of basic cooking technique.
thomasef53
easily only 1 cup of flour needed for the browning.
Be sure to use a spatter lid.... lots of flying grease!
Olivia
This is such a good blueprint to make your own- went with miso/mirin/gochujang for the liquid, used zucchini, onion, celery, sh*take, and carrots for the veg. Bone in skin on thighs since that's what I had. Skipped the hullabaloo of using flour or performing step 4 because I wasn't in the mood for extra mess or steps. The resulting sauce was definitely chicken forward with hints of the braising liquid shining through. Served with rice and chili oil. Drizzly Tuesday Night perfection.
Michael
The work-to-effectiveness ratio was unacceptably high for this recipe. It created a substantial greasy mess in the kitchen for an unremarkable result. I am surprised at the five star reviews from so many people. I should have stopped when I was asked to cram six chicken leg quarters in a skillet.
Sherri LTB
I make a dish remarkably similar to this in an Instant Pot. It turns out great and in a fraction of the time.
David
So you've made both and compared? And you wouldn't have been able to tell which was which with a blindfold on? It's funny, I've never been able to get crispy skin in my instant pot. Usually, chicken skin in my ip is gross (weird, flabby texture), so I tend to use boneless, skinless chicken -- which isn't the same at all.
Michael Trombetta
this was a terrific dish. We used boneless skinless thighs, and didn’t have celery or wine and it was still first rate.
AG
I have mixed feelings about this recipe. My husband loved it, so four stars for that. I was on the fence about the fifth star because there's so much ambiguity in saltiness of broth, whether you use wine or water, the proper way to de-fat. While the chicken itself was tender and cooked perfectly (because thighs are basically fool-proof), the sauce needed a lot of doctoring towards the end. Then again, so do a lot of things. It was a fun one!
Jim P
Am I nuts? How does anyone fit all of the ingredients, much less six whole chicken legs in one “skillet”. Everything was crowded in the pot, skin is saggy and gross.
andrea
Deglazed w red wine, purred carrots garlic celery and onion in cuisinart. Used water
Saskiasch
Love it, love it, love it. I combine it with riso pasta, that is really nice with the sauce. All you need is a simple salad. Als great with some good bread.
Barbara S
WAY too much work for a result that is just "OK" I don't understand the 5 stars and I have been cooking for 40 years! This is an absolute NO repeat for me.
carrots
Probably operator error, using too much broth. Flavor was good but this was a headache and not worth it. A possibility for dinner party though
Brushjl
Nothing special. Good basic chicken fricasee.
Maria
Made close to plan. Seasoned the flour with about a half tsp each coriander, smoked paprika and ground oregano. Thighs only, what I had. 3 tbs butter for chicken, no extra pan oils, I had a nice roux when it was done on the stove. Fresh herbs used was sage. Mushrooms on hand added.Process: mirepiox after chicken, added white wine and then garlic and chopped sage. Released bits, chicken on top, chicken stock according to my pan (only a cup or so), done. Delish and homey - Sunday or week night.
DJ
The flavor profile on this dish was amazing. I made the red wine version, coq au vin. I attempted to add Moroccan spices to the flour mix although I wasn’t able to detect these flavors in the final product. If I make this again, I’ll need to invest in a proper skillet. Because I used chicken legs w thighs attached they were too large to place in my Dutch oven initially. Started with a large skillet to brown the legs, and prepare the sauce. Used stockpot for baking in oven, Dutch oven to finalise
Name Linda Criss
Why bother flouring and frying the chicken? Just place it all in a large pan. Roast at 375 45 minutes, turn the heat to 350, continue until the chicken is crisped and browned- one and one half more hours. The meat will taste like silk.
Phyllis
This recipe is for "braised" chicken legs. Braising calls for the cover to be on the skillet, not off.
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