I have a newfound love for tarragon. My go-to herbs (for eating and growing) are usually basil, cilantro, thyme and rosemary. And while I still love those flavors I personally feel tarragon is sometimes the forgotten herb around here that should be used more often! But, with all that said – if you aren’t a fan of tarragon yourself – this baked chicken dish would still be great with fresh thyme or rosemary instead. It’s honestly hard to mess this one up. :)
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Creamy Baked Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pounds chicken thighs bone-in, skin-on
- 2 shallots peeled and minced
- 3/4 cup white wine
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon tarragon fresh, chopped (I use my kitchen shears for this job)
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
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Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and then place in the pan with the skin-side down. Let it cook without disturbing it for 5 or 6 minutes, or until the skin has turned a nice crispy brown (my daughter's favorite part of this dish!).
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Use a metal spatula to loosen up the chicken skin from the pan and carefully transfer the pieces to a 8X8 or 9X9 square oven-safe baking dish with the skin side up. Bake for 15 minutes, or until cooked all the way through (165 degrees) while you prepare the sauce.
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Meanwhile back in the same skillet with the oil that remains, cook the shallots over medium heat until they begin to soften, about 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in the wine and allow it to cook and reduce for another 2 to 3 minutes while scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
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Whisk in the chicken broth, sour cream, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and tarragon leaves (kitchen shears make prepping the tarragon easy!). When the chicken is done drain the fat out of the baking dish (if desired), pour the sauce over top, and serve warm.
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
This is a great recipe. If you remove the tarragon you’re left with a great basic sauce that you can season with pretty much anything to suit what you have on hand/availability of fresh produce. The fresh herbs at my grocery store were looking a little less than fresh so I subbed in an eyeballed tsp of dried Italian herbs mix and it tasted lovely. I also subbed the white wine for 3/4 cup chicken broth with a couple tbsp of white wine vinegar to taste, as sometimes I don’t want to cook with wine. I also sprinkled some spice mix that contained paprika on the chicken before browning, and it gave a nice rich color to the sauce. The chicken came out moist and delicious and I’m having trouble keeping the left overs for the rest of the week rather than gorging myself. A keeper for sure!
Made this the other night and loved it! The only change I’d do next time is use either bone in chicken breasts or boneless breasts. Didn’t love the thighs but it’s not the recipe’s fault :)
Sauce was very thin and didn’t have time to play around with it to thicken.