Champagne Braised Chicken Recipe

Champagne braised chicken on a plate with mashed potatoes.

Champagne Braised Chicken Recipe

This Champagne braised chicken recipe makes an easy weeknight dinner that feels a little fancy. It comes together in about 35 minutes, with crispy chicken thighs simmered in a savory champagne sauce.

Course dinner, Main, Main Course, Main dish

Cuisine Chicken, quick, weeknight

Diet Low Lactose

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Servings servings

Calories 760kcal

Author Jessy Freimann

Equipment

oven-safe skillet
sharp knife
cutting board
Tongs
wooden spoon
Meat thermometer

Ingredients

2 ½ pounds chicken thighs bone-in, skin on
2 strips bacon diced small
1 cup shallots diced small
1 cup mushrooms sliced
¾ cup champagne or sparkling wine
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper,
4 sprigs fresh thyme lemon thyme is great if you have it!
2 cups chicken broth
2 Tablespoons cornstarch

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Pat Dry chicken and sprinkle some of the salt on the skin side of the chicken. Mix remaining salt with black pepper and set aside.
Place chicken thighs skin-side-down in cold skillet and turn the heat on to medium-high. Sprinkle a pinch of the salt and pepper mixture onto the backside of the chicken pieces.
Sear until the chicken easily pulls up to flip the chicken, about 10 minutes. Thew chicken skin will be perfectly golden brown. Once you flip the chicken, cook 2 more minutes and remove from the pan.
Add the shallots and bacon to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, to brown the bacon and soften the shallots.
Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook 5 more minutes stirring frequently.
Deglaze the pan with the champagne, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to bring up all the brown bits. Cook 2 minutes to reduce.
Whisk the cornstarch into the broth and add to the pan. Sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper and stir to combine.
Place chicken thighs back into the pan and place the pan into the preheated oven uncovered.
Bake until the thickest part of the thigh reaches 161 degrees F, about 10-15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and rest for 5 minutes; the internal temperature will rise to 165 degrees F during this time. Serve immediately.

Video

Notes

Moisture is the enemy of crispiness. Pat the chicken skin dry with paper towels before seasoning and make sure you don't overcrowd the pan so they browns properly instead of steaming.
Start with a cold pan- this will allow the chicken fat to render and give you the perfect golden-brown sear on the chicken skin.
Be patient to the searing- it takes a good 10 minutes and the chicken will easily release when it's ready.
Don't put any black pepper on the chicken skin- to prevent burning. The other side is ok to add it.
Mince the bacon nice and small- try to let it be the same size and the small diced shallots so they cooked evenly.
Deglaze the pan properly. Scraping up the browned bits after adding the wine builds the base of the sauce. This step adds more flavor than any extra seasoning.
Rest the chicken after cooking- Pull the chicken when the thickest part of the chicken thigh registers at 161 degrees F. Remove from the oven then rest the chicken for 5 minutes. During this time, the juices will redistribute during this time and the temperature will rise to 165 degrees F resulting in perfectly cooked chicken every time.
Ingredients to prep ahead- Clean and slice the mushrooms, small dice the shallots and bacon.
Leftovers and storage- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in the oven to keep the meat tender.

Nutrition