Cooking with Chef Jo: Smothered Chicken

We scored a 5lb bag of leg quarters this week at the grocery store! While we usually get chickens thighs to roast for dinner, they were out. I have found with the chicken leg quarters, the legs are scrawny while the thighs are meaty. So what do I do with those scrawny leg portions? I make onion smothered chicken with them. It will take 2 legs to make one serving. Yes, they are pitiful. That's what you get from commercially grown chicken. More emphasis is put on Dolly Parton sized breast meat. Half a breast is equaled to two portions of meat.

The recipe itself is supper simple as are the side dishes that accompany it, but oh, so delicious!

Smothered Chicken
Serves 2

What you'll need

4 chicken legs, scrawny if you find meaty ones, 1 leg per serving
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp sage
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 cup chicken broth*
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp flour
1 onion, sliced
                                                             1 carrot grated
                                                             1 rib celery, finely diced

Note-* I used my enhanced chicken bone broth.

Putting it together

• Sprinkle chicken legs with salt, pepper, sage, and garlic powder. Set aside for 5 minutes.
• Get your deep skillet screaming hot. Droplets of water will skitter and dance across the top when sprinkled.
• Place seasoned chicken in the pan and cover with the lid.
• After 20 minutes, turn chicken and add the onions, celery and carrots. Cook additional 20 minutes with the lid on.
• Remove the chicken and onions from the pan.
•  Mix flour, cornstarch, and 1/4 cup of broth together. 
• Pour remaining broth in the skillet. Scrap the yummy bits from the bottom of the pan and bring to a boil.
• Stir flour mixture and pour into the skillet. The gravy will form very quickly. 
• Turn heat to low and return chicken and onions to the skillet.  
• Turn chicken over in gravy to coat. Simmer 10 minutes.

Serve with rice or egg noodles pouring gravy on top of the chicken. Make a tossed salad and you've fit a meal fit for a queen. The chicken is fall off the bone tender. Notice I didn't add extra oil to make this dish. That's because the fat renders off of the skin and fat on is more than enough to cook the chicken and onions.

 Y'all have a blessed day!

Chef Jo