Braised Chicken Thighs with Tomato and Garlic
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Author Notes: I've taken to making this once a week -- fragrant and comforting, it's great with orzo or rice to sop up the sauce. - merrill
Serves 4
- 8 chicken thighs on the bone, skin-on
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- Salt
- 6 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 20 ounces canned chopped tomatoes (I prefer tetra-pack)
- 1 cup chicken stock (homemade or low sodium)
- 2 sprigs thyme
- Orzo or rice for serving
- Rinse the chicken thighs and pat them dry. Season them liberally on all sides with salt. Heat the olive oil in large, heavy sauté pan with high sides over medium heat. Brown the chicken thighs on both sides in two batches, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and keep warm. Pour off all but about a tablespoon of fat in the pan.
- Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until you can smell it, about a minute. (Don't let it burn.) Add the canned tomatoes, chicken stock and a large pinch of salt, and turn the heat up until the liquid comes to a simmer, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon as they loosen. Add the thyme and then nestle the chicken thighs, skin-side-up in the sauce.
- Partially cover the pan and turn down the heat so that the sauce is simmering gently. Cook for about 30 minutes, until the chicken is tender.
- If the sauce is thin, transfer the chicken to a clean plate and keep warm while you turn up the heat for a few minutes so that the sauce simmers and thickens a bit. Don't let it cook down too much -- you want this to be pretty saucy.
- Return the chicken to the sauce and heat through before serving over orzo or rice.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
Tags: chicken, chicken thighs, cooking for clara, garlic, make ahead, tomatoes
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about 1 month ago sonomagal
How about a little wine in the recipe. White, I think I would use.
about 1 month ago merrill
Merrill is a co-founder of Food52.
Yes, I often add a splash of white. Rose works nicely, too.
3 months ago darksideofthespoon
This was SO GOOD. We used a whole head of garlic, and much more thyme than the recipe called for. We also added parsley and butter to the orzo and ate it with roasted asparagus spears. My 1 year old daughter loved it and even spat out her mouthful of chicken in anticipation for the thigh bone my husband handed to her. Silly girl!
3 months ago merrill
Merrill is a co-founder of Food52.
Clara does that too! So glad you liked it.
3 months ago windysiprits
Can't wait to make this tonight in my new Staub pot my Mother-in-law gave me! I am going to add green olives to the dish to give it another twist and serve it over a bed of creamy polenta. Should be awesome, thank you for the recipe!
3 months ago merrill
Merrill is a co-founder of Food52.
These sound like great variations!
3 months ago Pat in SoCal
This works great with the "skin down in a cold, dry skillet" start...rendering out the fat from the skin instead of EVOO. Pushed the thighs aside (one less plate to wash) to saute an abundance of garlic and then added a bunch of defrosted tomatoes from last summer's bounty and thyme from the garden. Nestled in the thighs and kept the skin high, dry, and crispy. Did not cover for this same reason. Cooked the tomatos down over medium heat to a saucy texture...salt and a few chili flakes and we're done! Very yummy, fast, and easy. Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
3 months ago darksideofthespoon
So true. I put barely any oil in the pan at the start and by the end I had a cup of rendered chicken fat!
3 months ago merrill
Merrill is a co-founder of Food52.
I've been using your method for a couple of weeks now and I'm a big fan -- thank you so much!
4 months ago foodieinthemaking
I just made this today and it is sooo good!!! I thickened the sauce a bit and upped the anti with the garlic and thyme. Definitely going in my regular weekday repertoire.
4 months ago adele93
how did you thicken the sauce? and when you say you increased garlic and thyme, did you double it?
4 months ago foodieinthemaking
I think I did double. I love garlic and used about 6 cloves for half a batch but to be fair on the thyme, I just threw the bundle in without chopping or tearing so it wasn't too strong. Not sure if that's what merill intended for us to do. And the thickening was just me forgetting it on the stove while I had to attend to a screaming baby and it reduced probably more than it should but still super yummy. The dish would be super yummy if you followed it to the letter too. It's a great recipe.
4 months ago lihi
was delicious comforting and simple but definitely needs to simmer longer for falling off the bone softness. question: what does the browning do?
4 months ago merrill
Merrill is a co-founder of Food52.
The browning adds flavor to the sauce and skin. My chicken thighs are pretty tender after 30 minutes, but by all means cook them for longer if you like!
4 months ago KellyA
Thanks for this... I defrosted chicken with no idea what to do with it, so this is dinner tonight!
4 months ago Gardengrrl
Nom! This screams 'comfort food!' My Mom would always add tomato in some form to the pot when cooking bone-in chicken to help release the calcium from the bones. This dish makes me think of her.