Beer Brined Lemon Garlic Skillet Chicken
Jackie Dodd-Mallory
(Senior Editor)
Beer Brined Lemon Garlic Skillet Chicken. 30 minutes, one pot, so good!
They always seem to need to explain themselves to me.
When someone, new to beer or not, tells me they don’t like IPA’s it always comes with a disclaimer at the end. As if the mere fact they don’t respond well to one of the hundreds of beer styles knocks the "beer lover" card out of their hands. IPA’s aren’t the litmus test by which a beer lover is judged, nor are sours, or barrel aged beers or even the enjoyment of an occasional pale lager.
After all, we got into this craft beer drinking game because we enjoy the flavor, not because we were jonesing to drink something we didn’t like. We could do that much cheaper with a macro beer.
You don’t have to like them all, they aren’t your children, it’s OK to have favorites. And least favorites. So what do you do when you’ve tried to like a beer style and can’t? Or if you’ve tried to like beer in general and can’t?
First, realize that you don’t have to. Like what you like because you like it, and leave it at that. But if you do want to, want to like beer, want to like a certain style? Push forward. Be honest at the beer bar about what you are trying to like and ask for tasters. Be willing to try anything, but don’t commit to a pint, you’ll probably end up resenting the tall glass of beer and vow never to do it again. Maybe you don’t hate IPA’s, maybe you just don’t like Amarillo hops. Or you don’t like a cook hop flavor but wet hopped beers are your jam. Maybe you don’t actually hate sours, you just hate that one you had at a beer bar in San Francisco. Be willing to try a few dozen more to see if there might be something there.
A beer lover isn’t build with an unabashed love for every beer ever brewed. There were over 200 categories and subcategories at the Great American Beer Festival this year, no one loves them all. Of course you have favorites, and least favorites. You aren’t a bad beer person for not liking a few. But you are a bit of an asshole for making someone else feel inferior for admitting they don’t like IPA’s.
Beer Brined Lemon Garlic Skillet Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs bone-in, skin-on
- 1 tbs kosher salt
- 1 cup beer plus ½ cup, divided (pale ale, pilsner)
- ¼ cup diced shallots or white onions
- 4 large cloves garlic grated with a microplane
- 1 ½ tbs flour
- juice from one lemon about 3 tbs
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
- rice for serving
Instructions
- Add the chicken thighs to a shallow bowl, sprinkle with salt, cover with 1 cup beer.
- Allow chicken to sit at room temperate for 20 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Rinse the chicken well with cold water, pat dry.
- Add the chicken to a cast iron skill, off heat, skin side down. Add the pan to medium high heat, allow to cook until skin is golden brown (starting to cook chicken in a cold skillet will render more fat than if you start it in a hot skillet. You do not need any oil, the fat will render quickly making oil unnecessary)
- Turn the chicken over and cook until browned on the under side, remove from skillet (chicken will not be cooked through).
- Add the shallots, cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cooking for about 20 seconds.
- Whisk in the flour, cooking until all the flour has been dampened.
- Add the remaining ½ cup beer, scraping to deglaze the pan.
- Stir in the lemon juice, chicken broth, pepper, and salt.
- Add the chicken back into the pan, simmer until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes (if the skin has turned soggy, place skillet under broiler for about 1 minute to crisp up the skin).
- Sprinkle with parsley prior to serving.
- Serve over rice
Comments
Rachel December 10, 2015 um 9:44 am
This sounds right up my alley! I don’t have a cast iron pan (I know, I know)… do you think I could use stainless or would it stick too much?
Jackie December 10, 2015 um 10:19 am
You can as long as it’s oven safe. But it’s better in a cast iron skillet, hope you get one for Christmas (or Hanukkah, or whatever you celebrate 🙂 )
Tilly December 14, 2015 um 7:07 am
I have the same problem – don’t have a cast iron skillet 🙁 Will share my Christmas present wish with hubby 😀
Nathalie January 4, 2016 um 12:38 pm
Nom, nom, looks delicious as usual! Do you think adding peanut butter would work as well? I do not know why but somehow my gut is telling me to add that. Otherwise it looks delicious and even I do not drink beer that does not mean that I would not eat or cook with it! Absolutely amazing pictures and inspiration 🙂
xx
http://potsofsmiles.blogspot.co.uk/
Maggie January 20, 2016 um 4:03 pm
This was so simple and easy to prepare! The flavor was great and everyone enjoyed it! That is a must do again! I am always looking for a new way to do chicken.
Jackie January 20, 2016 um 5:25 pm
Thanks Mags!
Michael January 21, 2016 um 1:19 pm
Great dish thanks Jackie, instead of putting chicken skin side down on top of the stove I tried skin side up in the broiler. Came out great ! Thanks again