The stovetop-to-oven cast-iron skillet technique in this recipe is our go-to for achieving crispy, juicy chicken thighs. If you’re tight on time, the chicken is delicious without the butter sauce (simply plate the thighs straight out of the oven). But to truly impart restaurant-worthy flavor, try your hand at the classic white wine and butter sauce known as beurre blanc in French. The recipe makes a plentiful amount of sauce; nestle the chicken into some of it, then spoon more over every other component of your dinner.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 45 min |
| Active: | 45 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 4 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 2 pounds)
- Kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup champagne vinegar
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed
- 1/4 cup chopped chives
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Sprinkle them on both sides with 1 1/2 teaspoons each salt and pepper.
- Heat a large oven-proof skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat. Add the chicken thighs to the skillet skin-side down and cook, moving them around once or twice to ensure even browning, until the skin is very golden brown, 11 to 12 minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Grasp a wad of paper towels with tongs and mop up excess fat in the bottom of the skillet—this will prevent the grease from spattering all over your oven; carefully discard the paper towel. Repeat several times until there’s only a thin film of oil over the bottom of the skillet.
- Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast until the chicken is almost cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes. Flip the thighs so they are skin side up, then continue roasting until no longer pink near the bone, another 6 minutes. Remove the skillet from the oven and transfer the chicken thighs to a plate, skin side up. Wipe out the skillet and set aside.
- Meanwhile, start your sauce. Combine the vinegar, wine, shallots, lemon juice and bay leaves in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until the mixture is reduced to a wet paste, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the cream and continue to simmer until the mixture is reduced to about 2 tablespoons.
- Reduce the heat to low and remove the bay leaves. Add a few chunks of the butter and whisk constantly until melted, then add a few more chunks and whisk again until melted. Continue adding and whisking the butter, which should melt into a creamy emulsion, until all the butter is incorporated, about 4 minutes. Do not let the sauce go over 130 degrees F or it will separate. If the sauce starts to break, remove from the heat, add 2 ice cubes and whisk until it cools down and comes back together.
- Season the sauce with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper. Transfer it to the cast iron skillet, nestle the chicken on top and sprinkle the whole dish with chives. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 907 |
| Total Fat | 83 g |
| Saturated Fat | 43 g |
| Carbohydrates | 9 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 4 g |
| Protein | 29 g |
| Cholesterol | 311 mg |
| Sodium | 924 mg |
Reviews
Been wanting to try this sauce since I saw it referenced in the movie “Julie & Julia”! Made it exactly as written (except used green onion instead of chives for garnish). It was decadent and delicious! Perfect combination of tangy, creamy and buttery. Make sure to add the butter slowly, little by little, and whisk the whole time.
Neither my husband nor I cared for the flavor in this recipe. I feel the flavor of the vinegar was overpowering. Will not be making again.
Really, really liked the sauce on this one! I made the mistake of cooking the chicken thighs too long on the skin side and burned it. Could have divided the time to brown the whole thing and left it longer in the oven. Flavor combination was UNREAL
My first time making a beurre blanc sauce and it made me feel like a real chef. I’m so glad I tried this recipe. I was hesitate to use two sticks of butter, but after reading all the reviews I decided it was best to do the recipe as written. And it turned out superb. For such a simple sauce, it is delicious. My thighs came out to perfection, looked just like the picture. We will do this again, just not often—if you know what I mean.
Delicious, but found it very difficult to coordinate making the sauce and 2 additional side dishes to ensure all got to the table hot. Doubt if I’ll make it again. I’ve thought of making the sauce ahead & then reheating, but not sure that would work without the cream curdling.
YES . It was delicious. I removed the chicken from the sauce and mixed the sauce with some pasta and served with a salad.
Followed the recipe precisely, and it was delicious. Do be careful about how much lemon you use.
This was very good. Didn’t use the champagne vinegar. Also thanks to previous reviews, I prepared the sauce in the same cast iron pan that I fried the chicken in. Loved it, will make again!!
Delicious! And pretty simple to make. As another reviewer stated, it always takes me longer to cook down the sauces as described. Also, don’t be salt-shy (like me). Next time I will use the amounts shown in the recipe (more than I actually used). I didn’t have champagne vinegar and used rice vinegar. Next time I’ll make the sauce in the same skillet I cooked the chicken (less mess). Just make sure the skillet isn’t too hot (I don’t have cast iron pans, just AllClad stainless steel.
So good! Everyone loved it 🙂