Chicken in a pot: Lemon & garlic style

Took my new Staub tall cocotte for a test drive tonight! I haven't figured out where to store it, but it was the last piece of cooking hardware I *really* wanted to add to the menagerie. 

When I was perusing meal ideas, lemony, citrusy things appealed. I think it's because I associate those flavors with brighter, sunnier times. Yeah, I miss the "margarita tree". 

Haven't (yet) sorted how to grow lemons here, but can source bags of little Meyer lemons reliably. For a price I choose to ignore. I miss the Lisbons, but I'd rather buy the Meyers by the bag than pay a ridiculous sum for a single Eureka lemon. Yeah, I'm kind of a lemon snob. 

Kept this simple & just served it up with some greens. A slightly more interesting spin on protein + salad.  

Ingredients

2 whole chicken legs
1 Meyer lemon, zested & juiced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
Chicken stock
Amontillado sherry
Crystal sauce
Olive oil
Dried thyme, basil, and marjoram
Granulated garlic
Pimenton de la vera 
Piment d'Espelette 
Salt
Pepper

Preparation

  1. Heat the pot & add some olive oil.
  2. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and the smoked paprika.
  3. Brown the chicken & offload.
  4. Add the onion & garlic & saute, stirring up the bits.
  5. Deglaze with the sherry.
  6. Add the lemon juice & zest.
  7. Add the herbs, granulated garlic, salt, and pepper. 
  8. Add the chicken back to the pot.
  9. Add the chicken stock. (I used homemade stock, so added it plus a little water to almost cover.)
  10. Hit it with a couple shots of Crystal sauce and a dash or two of the Piment d'Esplette. 
  11. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat, put the lid on, and simmer for ~20 minutes.
  12. Offload the chicken, and turn the heat back up to reduce the sauce to the desired consistency. 
  13. Season to taste and serve. 
I sauced the chicken, squeezed the last of the lemon over some salad greens, seasoned with salt & pepper, and then skimmed off a little of the oil from the sauce to drizzle over the greens. 

It was good eats. 




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