Sunny's Easy Smothered French Onion Chicken Thighs
- Level: Easy
- Yield: 4 servings
- Total: 1 hr 20 min
- Active: 40 min
Ingredients
Chicken:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon hot Hungarian paprika
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
4 tablespoons olive oil
Gravy:
3 tablespoons salted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 Vidalia onions, halved and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon Dijon
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon hot Hungarian paprika
2 cloves garlic, minced or grated on a rasp 3 cups beef stock
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Serving suggestions: cooked white rice or Sunny's Garlic Red Bliss Mash, recipe follows
Sunny's Garlic Red Bliss Mash:
3 pounds red bliss potatoes
4 cloves garlic
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1/2 to 1 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
Directions
- For the chicken: Add the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, a nice pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper to a medium bowl. Stir to distribute. Add the chicken thighs and toss to coat. Let sit in the bowl.
- For the gravy: Add the butter and flour to a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir together with a wooden spoon and cook, stirring, until a deep brown color but not burning, about 6 minutes. Add the onions, Dijon, thyme, paprika and garlic and stir to coat. Slowly add the stock and stir. Raise the heat to a simmer and cook until thickened like gravy. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
- Add the oil to a large pan over medium-high heat. When it begins to swirl, shake the excess flour off the chicken and add to the pan. Sear on both sides, 6 to 8 minutes per side, then place in the gravy and simmer, covered, to complete cooking, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes.
Sunny's Garlic Red Bliss Mash:
- Cover potatoes and garlic with water by 1 inch in a large pot. Bring to a boil, add salt and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain well.
- Put the potatoes and garlic back in the pot and cook over low heat to evaporate the rest of the water. Mash in the butter with a potato masher. Add the heavy cream in stages until the desired consistency is reached. Season with salt and pepper.