Recipe
Chicken w/ Mushroom Gravy
So, a staple in any kitchen should be chicken. I always buy what's on sale, leg quarters, thighs, drumsticks...whatever, it's a protein you can cook so many ways and very affordable. I especially love the bone-in breast. It's less expensive from it's boneless counterpart and has far less chances of coming out dry and is more flavorful because the bone helps it stay moist and has tons of flavor. The problem with chicken is that it's known to be the boring meat. My family and I love fried chicken dipped in gravy, especially from a well-known fried chicken chain now offering grilled options for the health conscious. My variation cooks the chicken in the oven and adds mushrooms to the gravy because frankly, I love mushrooms and it gives it a little gourmet twist. Here's a great recipe I made for dinner last night and it was a hit...even with the kids.
Ingredients:
Instructions:
- 1 Whole chicken - precut to eight pieces or 4 bone-in chicken breasts
- 1/2 of a LG green bell pepper - diced
- 1 medium spanish (or white) onion - diced
- 1 80z container of whole white button mushrooms - slice
- 2 TBL spoons of flour
- 2.5 cups of chicken stock (if no chicken stock, use water with 1/2 of a chicken buillion cube)
- 2 TBL of kosher salt
- Pepper
- 1 tsp of dried oregano
- 2 dried bay leaves
- Secret Ingredient : 1 TBL of Kikkoman soysauce...YES soysauce!
Heat a 14" sauce pan with vegetable oil on high heat. I
used my fave pot that I use for everything from frying to making stews.
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Season the chicken pieces with salt and
pepper. Use as little or as much pepper to your taste. Brown the chicken
SKIN SIDE DOWN. The point is to simply brown the pieces until it's
golden and crispy, not to cook it all the way. Once all the chicken
pieces are golden brown, place the chicken pieces on a cookie sheet and
roast it in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until the internal temperature
reaches at least 140 degrees. (BUY A MEAT THERMOMETER! I promise you'll
use it time and time again!)
Turn
down the heat on the sauce pan immediately to medium to low-medium
heat. Add the diced green peppers and onions with 1 tsp of salt 1/2 tsp
of pepper and 1 tsp of dried oregano & bay leaves. Saute for about 2
minutes. Add the flour and stir for another minute and until all the
veggies are coated with the flour. Add chicken stock and turn heat up to
medium-high heat until the liquid is boiling. This is a very important
step, because the flour will not thicken the gravy unless brought to
this boiling point first.
Once the sauce hits it's
boiling stage, turn the heat back down to medium and add sliced
mushrooms and soysauce. The soysauce is an unexpected & unusual
ingredient but like worchershire, it gives the gravy an great depth and
makes you just go..."Hmmm, what is that?" I'll tell you, my husband was
surprised when I told him I put soysauce on his gravy! Keep the gravy at
low heat until all the vegetables have become tender and has
incorporated with your gravy. When the chicken is cooked all the way
through, plate and pour as much or as little gravy over the top as you
desire.
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