Great success! I made some really good chicken. Probably the best dish I’ve made in my life (all modesty aside)! Juicy on the inside, crisp on the outside. Cost per serving: $2.03 👌👌👌
The Recipe
I used the same recipe from Serious Eats: Pan-Roasted Chicken Breasts w/ Lemon and Rosemary Pan Sauce.
And again, I incorporated some tips from this post: Why Chicken w/ Pan Sauce Is Always Better at Restaurants…
Thanks J. Kenji López-Alt! 🙌🙌🙌
I also made some changes based on my notes from last time (marked in italics).
Ingredients
- 2 boneless chicken breasts (I already had some boneless chicken thighs, so I used these)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves (I used dried rosemary instead)
- 1-1/2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- (I also used 1 tablespoon of flour to coat the chicken before pan frying)
Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
2. Pat chicken dry and season both sides with salt and pepper. Then, coat both sides with flour.
3. Heat oil in an oven-safe medium stainless steel skillet over high heat until just starting to smoke.
4. Carefully lay chicken thighs into hot skillet skin side down. Cook without moving until the skin is deep golden brown and very crisp, about 6 minutes. Carefully flip chicken and transfer skillet to the oven.
5. While the chicken roasts, add chicken stock to a liquid measuring cup. Set aside. (I made stock using Better than Bullion)
6. Cook chicken until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 150°F (66°C), about 1 minute. Remove skillet from oven and transfer chicken to a cutting board. Set aside to rest while you make the pan sauce.
7. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the skillet and place over high heat.
8. Add minced shallot and cook, stirring, until softened and fragrant, about 30 seconds.
9. Add chicken stock and cook, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
10. Continue cooking on high heat until sauce is reduced by about two-thirds, about 5 minutes.
11. Stir in butter (coated in corn starch), soy sauce, and lemon juice and cook at a hard boil until emulsified, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and set aside.
12. Slice chicken and transfer to individual serving plates. Taste sauce and season with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over the chicken and serve immediately.
Wins
- I’m feeling more comfortable adjusting the cooking instructions based on my intuition. This time I checked the temperature of the chicken after cooking it on the stove. It was already at 140°F / 60°C (and my target temperature was 150°F / 66°C), so I put it in the oven for only 1 minute instead of 8. I also heated the oven to just 400°F instead of 450°F. These are the main reasons that the dish came out better this time.
- I didn’t burn myself. After taking the pan out of the oven, I kept repeating out loud: “The handle is hot. The handle is hot. Don’t touch the pan”. Last time I got distracted by the other tasks I was doing, but this time I was focused. My wife also suggested I put a towel on the pan handle as a reminder.
Next time I’m going to use chicken breasts, which are supposed to be more difficult to make than chicken thighs. See you then!
OTHER POSTS IN THE 100-DAY CHALLENGE SERIES
Day 1: Intro to Me & My Goal
Day 4: “Why Learn?” and My Cooking Background
Day 7: What Should I Learn to Cook FIRST?
Day 10: Pasta + Meat Sauce (Tomato Bolognese)
Day 21: Pasta + Meat Sauce (less Tomato)
Day 28: Pasta + Meat Sauce (Beef Stroganoff)
Day 35: Oven Roasted Chicken Thighs
Day 42: Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs
Day 49: Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs (coated with flour)
Day 56: Pan Roasted Chicken Breasts
Day 63: Miso Glazed Baked Salmon
Day 70: Miso Glazed Baked Salmon II
Day 77: Miso Glazed Baked Salmon III
Day 84: Final Exam
Day 95: What’s Next?
Day 100: Final Thoughts