I tend to make a lot of chicken thighs for dinner when we eat chicken. I like the flavor of them, they stay moist through different types of cooking over boneless chicken breasts, and frankly they are very often much cheaper than chicken breasts. A lot of times I will buy them in bulk at BJ’s Warehouse or buy a family pack at the store and freeze them so I always have them on hand for cooking. I pulled a few out last week to make this recipe, that I got from Rachel Ray. It is a very simple recipe to make some easy chicken thighs and have leftovers for another meal.

Beer-Braised Chicken Thighs

8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 link andouille sausage, casing removed and chopped, or 4 slices bacon, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped

2 to 3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

1 rounded tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 (12-ounce) bottle lager beer

1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons hot sauce

Scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced, for garnish

Warm baguette

Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels and season them well with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and brown the pieces on both sides in 2 batches about 10 minutes per batch until the chicken has good brown color and the skin is crisp.

Remove the chicken to a plate and spoon out about half of the drippings. Add the andouille sausage or bacon. Brown for about 2 minutes and then add in the onion, bell pepper, garlic and thyme and cook to soften for about 10 minutes over medium heat.

Add the flour and stir constantly for 1 to 2 minutes until it is well blended with the vegetables. Pour in the beer and let the foam subside. Stir in the tomatoes, chicken broth and the hot sauce. Stir occasionally and let the sauce thicken for about 6 to 8 minutes. Place the chicken pieces back in the pot and simmer the dish until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 to 10 minutes longer. Garnish the chicken with the scallions and serve with the warm baguette.

It is a very simple meal that makes same great tasting chicken. You want to make sure you get a good crust on the chicken skin when you are cooking it first before you start in on the rest of the meal. This will give you great color and good skin when you put the chicken back in the liquid and it won’t get as soggy from the cooking. The liquid gets great flavor from a lot of sources, such as the beer, the sausage, the tomatoes and the hot sauce. I served this over some white rice and we had a nice meal in no time at all.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. I have quite a stockpile of things I have made recently, so we have some good recipes to come and I have found a bunch more I want to try in the coming weeks, so keep checking back to see what’s next. until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!