Pan-Roasted Chicken Breast With Sage-Vermouth Sauce

Submitted by Barb G.

"Try to have chicken breast the same size though if they are of different size check the smaller ones a few minutes early to see if they are done and remove from skillet. The recipe comes from America's Test Kitchen."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 10mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• Chicken

• 1 cup kosher salt or 1/2 cup table salt
• 2 (1 1/2 lb) bone-in skin-on chicken breasts
• ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon canola oil

• Sage-Vermouth Sauce

• 1 large shallot, minced (about 4 tablespoons)
• 3⁄4 cup canned chicken broth
• 1⁄2 cup dry vermouth
• 4 medium fresh sage leaves, each torn in half
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces
• salt & fresh ground pepper

directions

1. For chicken, dissolve salt in 2 quarts cold tap water in a large bowl: submerge chicken in brine and refrigerate until fully seasoned, about 30 minutes.
2. Rinse chicken pieces under running water and pat dry with paper towels.
3. Season with pepper.
4. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450°F.
5. Heat oil in heavy-bottomed 12-inch ovenproof Skillet over medium-high heat until begining to smoke; swirl skillet to coat with oil.
6. Brown chicken skin-side down until deep golden, about 5 minutes; turn chicken pieces and brown until golden on second side, about 3 minutes longer.
7. Turn chicken skin-side down and place in oven.
8. Roast until juices run clear when chicken is cut with a paring knife, or thickest part registers 160°F on instant-read thermometer, 15 to 18 minutes.
9. Transfer chicken to platter, and let rest while making sauce.
10. SAUCE: using potholder to protect hands from hot skillet handle, pour off most of fat from skillet; add shallot, then set skillet over medium-high heat and cook, stirring frequently, until shallot is softened, about 1 1/2 minutes.
11. Add chicken broth, vermouth, and sage; increase heat to high and simmer rapidly, scraping skillet bottom with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits, until slightly thickened and reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 5 minutes.
12. Pour accumulated chicken juices into skillet, reduce heat to medium, and whisk in butter 1 piece at a time; season to taste with salt and pepper and discard sage.
13. Spoon sauce around chicken breast and serve immediatly.

Reviews

[eknecht]

Love this! It's one of DH's favorite meals. Thanks for posting!

 

[KarenWith2LittleGir]

A good "comfort food" kind of dish. Was good with wild rice and steamed carrots. Used green onions instead of shallots. Liked the idea of Vermouth instead of white wine which is what you would typically see.

 

[Rita1652]

I found the chicken to hold the salt.I did rinse it very well. For a 5 star recipe skip the brine. I find that chicken in bone and skin is quite tender and doesn`t need any help. The sauce on the other hand was {outstanding}.