Stovetop Roast Chicken with Lemon-Herb Sauce (Original Post 9/10/11)

Another recipe from America’s Test Kitchens. I love chicken and the easier to make the better! I think I will be trying this soon.

Ingredients:

Chicken:

3 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces (split breasts cut in half, drumsticks and /or thighs) trimmed

Table salt and ground black pepper

1 TBS vegetable oil

3/4- 1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Lemon-Herb Sauce:

1 tsp. vegetable oil

1 medium shallot, minced (about 3 tablespoons)

1 tsp. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 TBS. minced fresh parsley leaves

1 1/2 TBS. minced fresh chives

1 TBS. juice from 1 lemon

1 TBS. unsalted butter, chilled

Table salt and ground black pepper

Directions:

For The Chicken:

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a 12-inch non stick skillet over medium high heat until just smoking. Add the chicken pieces skin side down and cook without moving until golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes.

Using tongs, flip the chicken pieces skin side up. Reduce heat to medium low, add 3/4 cup of the broth to the skillet, cover, and cook until the thickest part of the breast registers 155 degrees and the thickest part of the thighs/ drumsticks registers 170 degrees on an instant read thermometer, 10 to 16 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate, skin side up.

Pour off the liquid from the skillet into a 2 cup measuring cup and reserve. Wipe the skillet out with paper towels. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet and heat over medium high heat until shimmering. Return the chicken pieces skin side down and cook undisturbed until the skin is deep golden brown and crisp, the thickest part of the breast registers 160-165 degrees, and the thickest part of the thigh/drumstick registers 175 degrees, 4 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and tent loosely with foil. Using a spoon, skim any fat from the reserved cooking liquid and add enough broth to measure 3/4 cup.

For The Sauce:

Heat the oil in the now empty skillet over low heat. Add the shallot and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds. Increase the heat to medium high, add the reserved cooking liquid, and bring to a simmer, scraping the skillet bottom with a wooden spoon to loosen any brown bits. Simmer rapidly until reduced to 1/2 cup, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in any accumulated juices from the resting chicken; return to a simmer and cook for 30 seconds. Off the heat, whisk in the parsley and chives, lemon juice, and butter; season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the sauce around the chicken and serve immediately.

Tips:

When browning the chicken to avoid getting oil everywhere use a spatter guard. Also, you could make this with all white meat chicken or all dark meat chicken as you prefer.