Braised Chicken Thighs with Orange, Fennel, and Olive
SERVES 4 to 6
TIME 1½ hours
INGREDIENTS
8 (5- to 7-ounce) bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed
1¼ teaspoons table salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small fennel bulb, 2 teaspoons fronds minced, stalks discarded, bulb halved, cored, and chopped fine
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup chicken broth
½ teaspoon grated orange zest plus 1 cup juice (2 oranges)
2 tablespoons Pernod
2 teaspoons water
1½ teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice
18 pitted Castelvetrano olives, cracked
Before You Begin: Other brine-cured green olives such as Cerignola or Picholine can be used for the Castelvetrano. Sambuca can be substituted for the Pernod. Serve with your favorite potatoes, rice, or buttered noodles and a vegetable side dish.
1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Heat oil in 12-inch ovensafe skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook, without moving it, until well browned, about 8 minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken and brown on second side, about 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to large plate.
2. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from skillet. Add fennel and pepper flakes and cook, stirring frequently, until fennel is lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Add broth, orange juice, and Pernod; bring to simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Return chicken to skillet, skin side up (skin will be above surface of liquid). Transfer skillet to oven and bake, uncovered, until chicken registers 195 degrees, 35 to 40 minutes. Whisk water and cornstarch together in small bowl; set aside.
3. Using tongs, transfer chicken to serving platter and tent with aluminum foil. Place skillet over high heat. Bring liquid to boil. Cook, occasionally scraping side of skillet to incorporate fond, until sauce is thickened and reduced to 1½ cups, 8 to 10 minutes. Adjust heat to medium-low. Whisk cornstarch mixture to recombine and then whisk into sauce and simmer until thickened, about 1 minute. Off heat, whisk in lemon juice and olives. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour sauce around chicken, top with fennel fronds, and serve.
Why This Works: For this simple chicken braise, we started by searing bone-in, skin-on thighs to crisp the skin. We then transferred the thighs to the oven where they simmered, skin side up, in a flavorful mix of chicken broth, orange juice, fennel, and Pernod until they reached 195 degrees and turned meltingly tender and juicy. To finish the sauce, we reduced the braising liquid to concentrate its flavors before whisking in a cornstarch slurry to thicken it to a luxurious, velvety consistency. Last- minute additions of olives, orange zest, and minced fennel fronds made for a fragrant finish.
Recipes provided by America’s Test Kitchen; used with permission.
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