Sunny's Easy Smothered French Onion Chicken Thighs

Recipe courtesy of Sunny Anderson
Show: The Kitchen | Episode: Favorites Part 2
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  • Yield: 4 servings
  • Level: Easy

    • 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

    My Private Notes

    Sunny's Easy Smothered French Onion Chicken Thighs

    Directions

    Gravy:

    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.