Pan Roasted Chicken with Citrus Sauce

I don’t know what comes over me sometimes. I mean, chopping and cooking bones?  Well, I am a complete sucker for all things citrus, so I couldn’t say no when I read this recipe. Let the chopping and cooking begin! This recipe comes straight from Food and Wine Magazine, January 2010. Click here for the original recipe. 

 Taste: A++! Convenience: B-….. Luckily, it was a lazy Sunday afternoon and I had all the time I needed. Start nice and early – the broth could be made a day or two ahead.

My personal touch to the magazine editor's note: simplified.... um. 

(Actually, chopping and cooking bones is a great way to create a rich, deeply flavored broth. So, be like me, don’t be afraid, chop and cook those bones. You won’t be sorry!)

Here’s what you need:

2 navel oranges

2 limes

4 chicken breasts, bones in and skin on

2 T vegetable oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

½ t dried thyme

1 C dry white wine

3 C chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth

1 T olive oil

Pepper

1 T butter

Here’s what you do: Take a deep breath, get a super sharp knife and make sure you have plenty of time before dinner! J

1.       Give the citrus fruit the full treatment. Zest them. Peel them with a super sharp knife. Remove the sections by cutting in between the membranes. Work over a bowl and save all the juice. Set all this aside.

2.       Give the chicken the full treatment. Remove the breast meat from the bones. (I actually learned how to de-bone a chicken by watching Youtube! I do it all the time and with confidence now!)  Set the meat aside and chop the bones into pieces.

3.       Chop the onion and garlic. Set aside.

4.       Heat 2 T vegetable oil in skillet. Cook bones until brown, about 5 minutes. A first for me. Very professional chef-like.

5.       Add the onions, garlic and thyme. Cook another 5 minutes or so. The onions should be getting soft and golden.

6.       Add the wine. Cook for another 5-10 minutes or until the wine is reduced to ½ cup.

7.       Add the chicken stock and the citrus zest. Continue to simmer for another 10-20 minutes. The bones should be doing their magic right about now.

8.       Add the reserved citrus juice and simmer for another 10 minutes or so.

9.       Remove the bones and strain the broth. I chose to de-grease it in an ice bath.

10.   Return the broth to the heat and boil until desired thickness – another 5-10 minutes.  (you want about 1 ½ Cups total)

11.   Somewhere in there, generously pepper the chicken on the skin side. Brown, skin side down,  in an oven proof skillet in 1 T olive oil for about 5 minutes. Carefully turn over and place skillet in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until the chicken is just done.

12.   Add 1 T butter and reserved citrus sections to broth. Heat gently.

13.   Serve with pride! I served mine with rice and shredded carrots and zucchini.

PS Happy Thanksgiving to all my blogger friends out there. My daughter and I are on a mini-vacation  for the long weekend - visiting my parents in Florida.  No cooking for me at all - and that's a change of pace for me. I left a turkey breast in the fridge for my hubby and sons (who are not traveling with us) and a casserole of cheesy potatoes in the fridge. Instructions: plop one in the crock pot and the other in the oven. Take time to say thanks for the many blessings you have! Health. Family. Friends. Faith. Good food. Freedom. Work. The list could go on all day, couldn't it?