Well tonight I actually cooked this inside, but you could cook this on your grill. I had intended to cook most of this on the grill but a soaking shiver inducing rain invaded East Tennessee. Being a big wimp, I cooked inside instead.
My parents gave me this great bowl set for my birthday over a month ago but I was waiting to come up with something suitable for them. I wanted something Southwestern to match the festive colors but also something that reminded me of my childhood. One of my favorite dishes that my mom made when I was a kid was chicken fricassee. So I took a Southwestern spin on chicken fricassee.
Southwestern Chicken Fricassee
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp oil
- 6 chicken thighs
- 1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 4 cups cream of garlic soup
- 2 Tbsp oil
- 1/4 cup coarse chopped garlic
- 1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
- 1 shallot, coarsely chopped
- 3 slices bread, crusts removed and cubed
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flake
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup half and half or cream
- Preheat a wide bottomed pan and a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add 2 Tbsp oil to the pan and saute the garlic, bell pepper, and shallot for 2 minutes.
- Add the bread, toss to coat in the oil and continue cooking another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the broth, pepper, oregano and pepper flake. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile work on the chicken - season the chicken thighs with the salt, pepper, oregano, and garlic.
- Add 2 Tbsp oil to the skillet and brown the chicken thighs skin side down. This took about 5 minutes for me to get a nice golden color.
- Flip and sear the other side for 2 minutes.
- Add the 1 1/2 cups broth, bring to a gentle simmer, cover and braise for 25 minutes or until the thighs reach an internal temperature of 175f (I like my thighs done well).
- Back to the soup - after 15 minutes, whisk the soup mixture rapidly for 1 minute to break up all of the bread into a smooth consistency. Simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Slightly beat the egg in a large bowl. Whisk 1 1/2 cups of the hot soup into the egg. Now whisk this mixture back into the rest of the soup.
- Stir in the cream, taste for seasoning, and remove from heat.
- Put it all together - Drain all but 1/2 cup of the juice from the chicken pan. Add in enough of the cream of garlic soup to come up to the edges of the thighs. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Serve in bowls with plenty of the flavorful soup mixture.
For a full meal and nice presentation, serve with a timbale of yellow rice and peas.
The cream of garlic soup is great on its own too!
If you like a spicier soup base, double the red pepper flake, add chipotle pepper, or use red serrano or jalapeno instead of red bell pepper.
When browning the thighs, a lot of fat will render out, don't be alarmed. |
You could also finish the braise in a 400f oven. Stove top was just easier. |
This recipe was actually inspired by and created for this bowl. Thanks Mom and Dad! |
It was just the four of us eating but all 6 thighs, the extra soup and all the rice disappeared amongst grunts of satisfaction. The recipe was a little more involved than most that I do but the results were well worth it. One thing I wanted to add but ran out of time was some masa harina dumplings. Maybe next time but it really didn't need it. I can't wait to try this one on my Big Green Egg using a Dutch oven.
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