Recipe: Braised Chicken with Carrots, Tomatoes, and Kale

As a line cook, I loved making family meal–the daily meal that would feed the other cooks and front of house staff would eat together before service. Restaurant work is all about consistency and repetition whereas family meal is all about making something delicious out of whatever odds and ends you could find in the kitchen.

Back in those days, chicken breasts were far more valuable for customers than chicken legs, which meant that after breaking down chickens–using the breasts for service and the carcasses for stock–we’d have an ample supply of legs leftover to feed the staff with.

The technique I used for this recipe is the technique I frequently turned to in those days. In a typical braise, you start by browning meat, then adding liquid and cooking it all low and slow in the oven with a cover so that the meat cooks in a moist, steamy environment. With chicken this can lead to tender, juicy meat (provided you don’t under- or overcook it), but it also completely softens the skin which you’d crisped up during the browning step.

So how do you get crispy skin and tender, juicy meat? I do it by nestling the chicken into the braising liquid after browning it, making sure to keep the skin exposed above the liquid. The meat underneath gently simmers in the flavorful base, while the skin on top stays nice and crisp in the dry heat of the oven.

The best thing about this technique is that it is infinitely adaptable depending on your mood and the ingredients you have available to you. In this case, I used tomatoes as the braising base, along with some carrots, an onion, and kale that I happened to have in my kitchen. (The nice thing about braising is that it also works well for slightly limp carrots or kale that is not long for this world).

I use the same exact technique for this recipe for Crispy Braised Chicken with Cabbage and Bacon and this Crispy Braised Chicken with White Beans and Chile Verde over on Serious Eats. Any flavorful brothy base will work, and you can add virtually any vegetable to cook along with it. 

Recipe: Braised Chicken with Carrots, Tomatoes, and Kale

Every recipe I publish here is personally tested, tasted, and approved.

What I like about this recipe:

• The technique is a blank slate for any number of flavorful braising bases and vegetable accompaniments.

• Cooking the chicken low in slow in liquid with the top exposed delivers juicy meat and a crisp top.c

Yield: Serves 2 (or double for 4, using a larger pan but keeping the cook time the same)

Active Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 

Notes: This recipe will work with virtually any chicken parts, so long as you make sure to hit the right temperatures for the white meat (145-150°F) and dark meat (at least 175°F)

Ingredients:

2 pieces of chicken (whole legs and split breasts will work)

Kosher salt, MSG (optional), and freshly ground black pepper

Neutral oil for cooking

1 onion, split in half, peeled, and cut into ¼-inch slices from pole to pole

2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks

5 cloves garlic, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes

1 small bunch kale, stems removed, leaves roughly chopped

A few sprigs thyme

Extra-virgin olive oil for serving

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper on all sides. Heat a couple teaspoons of oil in a straight sided saute pan or Dutch oven over high heat until shimmering. Add chicken, skin-side-down and cook without moving until well-browned, reducing the heat if the drippings or chicken threaten to burn, 8 to 10 minutes.

• When chicken is browned, flip and add onions, stirring a bit to help the onions pick up any browned bits remaining in the pan. Continue cooking until the onion and second side of chicken is very lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Remove chicken from pan to a clean plate and set aside.

• Add garlic and carrots and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are lightly browned and garlic is softened but not burned, about 2 minutes.

• Add the tomatoes, then fill the can half way up with water, swirl to get any remaining tomato paste or juice, and add it to the skillt. Break the tomatoes up with a spatula into large, juicy pieces. Stir in the kale and the thyme, reserving some thyme for garnish.

•  Nestle the chicken pieces into the pan, making sure that their skin stays exposed. Transfer to oven uncovered and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 145 to 150°F. Remove the pot from the oven and allow to rest at least five minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve, drizzling each plate with some extra-virgin olive oil.