This is adapted from a Cooks Illustrated recipe for Quick Stovetop Roast Chicken (November/December 2008), to be not so quick -- because long and slow roasted chicken is way better. Active cooking time remains the same but total cooking time goes up by about an hour.
Chicken
- 6 bone in, skin on chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tb vegetable oil
- 1 - 1.25 cups chicken broth
Pan Sauce
- 1 medium shallot chopped fine (about 3-4 tablespoons)
- 1 tsp all purpose flour
- zest of 1 lemon
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 1/2 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1 1/2 tbsp chopped chives
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tsp vegetable oil in large large cast iron or carbon steel pan. Add chicken thighs skin side down and cook without moving until skin is golden brown, 5-8 minutes.
Flip chicken to be skin side up. Add 3/4 cup chicken broth and bring to simmer. Cover pan and move to oven for 45-60 minutes, until chicken is tender.
Remove pan from oven. Transfer chicken to plate, keeping it skin side up.
Pour off liquid from pan into fat separator and allow to settle 5-10 minutes. While this sits, return chicken pieces to pan skin side down and cook undisturned until skin is deep golden brown, 4-7 minutes. Transfer chicken to serving plate and tent loosely with foil.
Pour separated chicken juices into measuring cup, and add more broth until this measures 1 cup total.
Add 1 teaspoon fat back to the pan (and save the rest for something delicious later). Add shallot and cook 1-2 minutes until soft. Add flour and cook stirring constantly for 30 seconds. Add reserved 3/4 cup liquid and bring to simmer, scraping up all the brown bits. Simmer until this reduces to about 1/2 cup (about 3-4 minutes). Add in juices from resting chicken. Off heat, add in lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, and chives. Serve chicken with sauce poured on side. Do not pour sauce on chicken - this will ruin the crispy skin.