Braised Chicken Thighs in Pink Peppercorn Tomato Sauce
Bone-in chicken thighs browned hard, then braised in white wine and tomato with a tied bundle of thyme, rosemary and oregano until the meat pulls back from the bone. Crushed pink peppercorns go in off the heat, where their perfume survives.
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs about 2 pounds
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt Diamond Crystal; use half as much Morton
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground celery seed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
The Tomato and Wine Sauce
- 1 small yellow onion thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic left in their skins
- 1 large ripe tomato diced, about 8 ounces
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 1 can plain tomato sauce 8 ounces
- 1 bundle fresh herbs 6 sprigs thyme, 2 rosemary and 2 oregano, tied with twine
- 1 teaspoon pink peppercorns lightly crushed
To Finish
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice plus wedges to serve
- 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
Season and Sear
- Pat the thighs completely dry and season both sides with the salt, black pepper and celery seed. Set them on a rack in the refrigerator for 10 minutes while the pan heats, not on the counter.
- Heat the oil in a wide skillet over medium-high. Lay the thighs in skin side down along with the whole garlic cloves and brown for about 6 minutes, turn for 2 minutes more, then lift the chicken and garlic onto a plate.
Build the Sauce
- Lower the heat to medium, pour off all but a tablespoon of the fat, and cook the onion in it until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the diced tomato and cook for 3 minutes, pressing it a little so it starts to break down.
- Pour in the wine and scrape the browned bits off the base of the pan, then let it reduce by half, about 3 minutes.
Braise the Thighs
- Stir in the canned tomato sauce, then squeeze the softened garlic out of its skins into the pan and mash it into the sauce.
- Set the thighs back in skin side up, high enough that the sauce comes only part way up them, and tuck the herb bundle alongside.
- Simmer with the lid slightly ajar for 25 to 30 minutes, until the thickest part of a thigh reads 175F to 185F and the meat has pulled back from the end of the bone.
Rest and Finish
- Move the chicken to a plate and tent it with foil. Leave the pan uncovered over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
- Discard the herb bundle, then stir the crushed pink peppercorns and the lemon juice into the sauce off the heat and check the seasoning.
- Spoon the sauce over the thighs, scatter with parsley and serve with lemon wedges over couscous or soft polenta.
Notes
Doneness: 165F is the safe minimum for poultry, but bone-in thighs are only tender between 175F and 185F, once the collagen has converted. Twenty five to thirty minutes of simmering is the difference, and the cut is very hard to overcook inside that window.
Keep the thighs skin side up and above the liquid line, with the lid slightly ajar. Submerged and fully covered, browned skin turns soft within ten minutes.
Pink peppercorns are not true pepper. They are the dried berries of a tree in the cashew family, so leave them out for anyone with a tree nut allergy and finish with lemon zest instead.
Raw poultry should not sit at room temperature. Season it and hold it in the refrigerator while the pan heats.
Make-ahead: better on the second day. Cool it in its sauce, refrigerate up to 4 days, and add the peppercorns, lemon and parsley fresh on reheating. Freezes 3 months.
Nutrition values are an estimate.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 436kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 162mg | Sodium: 928mg | Potassium: 618mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 760IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 2mg