Thyme and Lemon Chicken

I used to braise chicken all the time when I was in college.  I was scared that I would under-cook it in the oven, but stovetop braises are faster and tend to cook more evenly.  I usually used those sauce packets, like Knorr, that you just add water or milk and simmer for half an hour.

Since getting the Crockpot, I've really started to appreciate braised meat.  This recipe is stovetop because the chicken didn't fit in the slow cooker.  Just means it cooked faster.

I picked thyme as the herb for this recipe because I managed to grow a lot of it.  Not in the herb pot I started almost a year ago, but some random seeds I put in the lettuce patch just to see what happened.  Lemon goes with most herbs.  You could try this with sage, tarragon, cilantro, parsley, or even basil.  If using dried instead of fresh, only use 1 tsp.  The flavor of dried herbs is concentrated.

2 skin-on chicken breasts (or 4 small)
white pepper & salt to taste
1 fresh or *preserved lemon
*1 sprig of fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried
*1/2 onion, diced
2 Tb olive oil
water or chicken broth as needed
2 Tb cream (optional)

1.  If using preserved lemon, rinse and soak to reduce salt.  Set aside.

2.  Heat oil on medium in a lidded skillet or saucepan large enough to snugly fit the chicken.  Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

3.  Add chicken to skillet skin-side down.  Lightly season underside with salt and white pepper.  Cook until skin is browned, about 8 minutes.  Flip chicken and brown bottoms, about 5 minutes.

4.  While the chicken is browning, prepare the lemon.  For preserved, drain, scrape away the pulp, and dice the skin.  For fresh, thinly slice.  Add to pan with the thyme.

5.  Add water or broth to pan halfway up the sides of the chicken.  Bring to a low boil.  Cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook 20 minutes.  Turn chicken over and cook until thermometer reaches 165º in the deepest part of the breast.  This will vary based on size, anywhere from 10-25 minutes.

6.  Remove chicken to a plate and keep warm.  Turn up the heat and reduce the stock into a sauce.  This could take 20 minutes or more, depending how much water you used.  Once there is about 1 cup of liquid, add cream and remove from heat.  If you want a thick cream sauce, add 1 tsp flour before the cream and stir until it thickens.  The flour will bind with the oil to make it more gravy-like.

7.  If using thyme sprigs, remove the stems before serving.  Spoon sauce over chicken and serve.

Difficulty rating  :)