Champagne-Browned Butter Chicken

Name: Champagne-Browned Butter Chicken
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: Serves 6 (serving size: 1 drumstick, 1 thigh, 2 carrots, about 2/3 cup mushroom mixture, and about 2 tablespoons sauce)
Ingredients: 2 slices center-cut bacon; ⅔ cup all-purpose flour; 6 bone-in chicken thighs, skinned (about 1 3/4 pounds); 6 bone-in chicken drumsticks, skinned (about 1 1/2 pounds); 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt, divided; ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided; 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided; 1 pound red-skinned potatoes, quartered; 1 pound button mushrooms, halved; ¼ cup brandy; 4 shallots, halved; ¾ cup no-salt-added chicken stock (such as Swanson); 1 tablespoon black peppercorns; 3 thyme sprigs; 1 bay leaf; ½ bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley; 12 baby carrots with tops; 1 cup Champagne; 3 tablespoons butter; 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley; 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

8 Ratings
7 Reviews

This intensely-flavored chicken dish features chicken that's browned in bacon drippings and baked in a Dutch oven along with carrots, potatoes and herbs. Then the chicken and vegetables are topped with a rich butter-Champagne sauce for a hearty dish that's perfect for entertaining.

By Julianna Grimes

Recipe by Cooking Light October 2012

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Credit: Brian Woodcock; Styling: Mary Clayton Carl

Recipe Summary test

hands-on:

50 mins

total:

1 hr 45 mins

Yield:

Serves 6 (serving size: 1 drumstick, 1 thigh, 2 carrots, about 2/3 cup mushroom mixture, and about 2 tablespoons sauce)

Nutrition Info

Directions

Step 1
Preheat oven to 300°.

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Step 2
Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp; remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings in pan. Reserve bacon for another use. Place 2/3 cup flour in a shallow dish. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Dredge chicken lightly in flour; shake off excess flour. Increase heat to medium-high. Add 1 tablespoon oil to drippings in pan; swirl to coat. Add half of chicken to pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over; cook 2 minutes. Remove from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and chicken.
Step 3
Add potatoes to pan; cook 3 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in brandy. Cook until liquid almost evaporates (about 30 seconds), stirring occasionally. Return chicken to pan. Add shallots and stock; bring to a boil. Place peppercorns and next 3 ingredients (through parsley) on a double layer of cheesecloth. Gather edges; tie with butcher's twine. Add bundle to pan. Bake, uncovered, at 300° for 15 minutes.
Step 4
Trim carrot tops to 1-inch; scrub carrots. Add the carrots to pan. Bake an additional 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender and chicken is done. Remove chicken and vegetables from pan; keep warm. Discard herb bundle. Place pan over medium-high heat. Add wine to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook until mixture reduces to 2/3 cup (about 11 minutes).
Step 5
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook butter 3 minutes or until lightly browned, shaking pan occasionally. Stir in 1 teaspoon flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly with a whisk. Gradually add butter mixture to reduced wine mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook 1 minute or until slightly thick. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Serve with chicken and vegetables. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and thyme.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:

464 calories; fat 16.9g; saturated fat 5.7g; mono fat 6.5g; poly fat 3.1g; protein 35.9g; carbohydrates 39.2g; fiber 3.1g; cholesterol 123mg; iron 4.2mg; sodium 658mg; calcium 40mg.

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koriander

06/18/2016

Lot of time to make and Paul didn't like it. SSee CL2013 cookbook for details.

sedutta

10/23/2014

This was fantastic! A little involved, but so worth it! I added the carrots with everything else based on other recommendations and they came out perfect for me- I don't like cooked, mushy carrots, but these were still crispy after all that time in the oven. I also omitted the parsley as I don't care for it too much, so we never have it in the house. Another change I made was to place the chicken on top of everything before it went into the oven instead of mixing it into the sauce. This kept the outside of it a little crispy and i don't think we missed anything in flavor because of the incredible gravy/sauce. I used white wine instead of champagne. It was fabulous!

MichelleH29

05/05/2013

Program

01/12/2013

Excellent flavor! But I do agree with another reviewer in that carrots were undercooked....even though I cooked them for the full hour

katgirldu1

09/20/2012

The sauce was so good I'm still dreaming about it now! Yum. The only thing I will do differently next time is to use breasts and thighs instead of thighs and legs. Oh! and cook the carrots for longer -- many were still hard. I made it the night before, and put it in the fridge overnight....reheated in oven next day, then finished the sauce to serve. Great make ahead recipe.

coyote36

09/20/2012

Outstanding recipe! Two tweaks. I halved the recipe for the two of us. Next time I will make it as is even if I halve the chicken. The sauce is that good. Second, I'd add the carrots right away and not wait 15 minutes into the oven time. They came out a little hard for my tastes. Other than that, this is a must try.

HappyVintner

09/18/2012

Agree. This is a really great, satisfying recipe. The dog got our bacon but only because she gave me those eyes.

CherylMD

09/17/2012

This was FANTASTIC. The sauce was the key. I had decided the recipe MUST be wrong when it said to put it in the oven uncovered, but the recipe was right, I think. Ours was good but the coating wasn't crispy anymore. I added extra potatoes and doubled the mushrooms, omitted the carrots.This was a little involved, but we did it for a holiday dinner and it was nice because the difficult part was early in the afternoon. My final comment--the recipe says cook 2 pieces of bacon and "set aside for another use"?? I am sure this is to make it more healthful, but honestly, those 2 pieces of bacon just wound up inside the chef! Not really more healthful. I also think you could easily do this with white wine if you did not have any champagne and you could do this on the stove instead of in the oven.

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Champagne-Browned Butter Chicken

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Ingredients

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Nutrition Facts

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All Reviews for Champagne-Browned Butter Chicken

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Champagne-Browned Butter Chicken

Gallery

Recipe Summary test

Ingredients

Directions

Nutrition Facts

Reviews (7)

All Reviews for Champagne-Browned Butter Chicken