There’s nothing quite like some roast chicken. Crispy skin, juicy meat, it just plain tastes good. However, there are some days (today  being one of them) where it is just too hot to turn on the stove. Sometimes you feel like using the stove for something else, like a cake or a pie. Today, it was just too hot for the oven but I had some chicken pieces that I wanted to cook. This recipe, from America’s Test Kitchen, gave a good solution of roasting the chicken on the stove top. I still got the dark brown crispy skin and the moist meat, and got a really good pan sauce to go along with it.

Stovetop Roast Chicken with Lemon-Herb Sauce

Chicken

3 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces, trimmed

Salt and fresh ground black pepper

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3/4 cup chicken broth

Lemon-Herb Sauce

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 medium shallot, minced

1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh chives

1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon

1 tablespoon butter, chilled

Salt and ground black pepper

For the chicken: Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add the chicken pieces skin side down and cook without moving until golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes.

Using tongs, flip the chicken pieces skin side up. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the chicken broth to the skillet, cover and cook until the thickest part of the breast registers 155 degrees and the thickest part of the thigh/drumstick registers 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 10 to 16 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate, skin side up.

Pour off the liquid from the skillet into a measuring cup and reserve. Wipe out the skillet with paper towels. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of oil to the skillet and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering. Return the chicken pieces to the skillet skin side down and cook undisturbed until the skin is deep golden brown and crisp, the thickest part of the breast registers 160 to 165 degrees, and the thickest part of the thigh/drumstick registers 175 degrees, 4 to 7 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and tent loosely with foil. Using a spoon, skim any fat from the reserved cooking liquid and add more broth if needed to measure 3/4 cup.

For the sauce: Heat the oil in the now-empty skillet over low heat. Add the shallot and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the reserved cooking liquid, and bring to a simmer, scraping the skillet bottom with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Simmer rapidly until reduced to a 1/2 cup, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in any accumulated juices from the resting chicken; return to a simmer and cook for 30 seconds. Off the heat, whisk in the parsley, chives, lemon juice and butter; season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the sauce around the chicken and serve immediately.

I served the chicken with some noodles and peas. the sauce was spectacular and went perfectly with the chicken. I would make this one again for sure.

I’m not sure what tomorrow will bring for dinner. I’ve been bad about planning things out lately; we’ve just had so much going on that I haven’t really had a chance to plan. Now that Sean is home from his trip south (Yeah!) maybe we can plan things a little better. Check back and see what the next meal will be. Enjoy the rest of your evening and enjoy your meal!