This recipe is for a twist on oven baked chicken. Gone are the dried out, bland and unexciting chicken pieces of yore, and welcome to moist, tasty, chicken with a gravy that is to die for!
Oven Baked Chicken
(serves 4-6)
12 chicken thighs with bone and skin
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
salt and pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, sliced thin
4 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
3 tbsp all purpose flour
water or chicken stock
2 tbsp sour cream
1. Preheat your oven to 350F. Rinse the chicken thighs and cut off any large hunks of fat, but be sure to leave the skin on. This is what is going to help keep the chicken moist and make great gravy.
2. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken thighs then put the panko crumbs into a shallow dish and coat the thighs in panko breadcrumbs by pressing them down to help the panko stick.
3. Heat the oil over medium high in a large skillet. Without crowding your pan and working in batches adding more oil when necessary, brown both sides of the thighs then place them in a single or double layer in an oven safe baking dish. Repeat until all the chicken is browned.
4. Scatter the thinly sliced onion and garlic over the chicken, cover tightly and bake for 45 minutes for a single layer of chicken, 1 hour for a double layer.
5. When cooked, remove the chicken from the dish. Using a spatula, transfer any pan drippings to a small pot if your baking dish is not suited for the burner. Add the flour into the pan drippings and stir into a paste. Turn the heat to medium and allow the flour to cook for 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of the water or chicken stock in a slow stream and allow the mixture to bubble, whisking constantly. This will take about 3 minutes. Adjust thickness by adding a bit more liquid if it’s too thick.
6. Turn the heat off and let the gravy sit for a few minutes. Adjust for salt and pepper then add the sour cream just before serving.
Serve with garlic mashed potatoes and a great, fresh green vegetable.
