Kyle has prepared our Milk Braised Pork with Pumkin and Parmesan, with much success, over the past couple of Thanksgivings. If you want a tender and delicious pork shoulder, then use the technique of simmering it in milk – it produces a rich, creamy sauce that is so simple to prepare! The Milk Braised Pork is a huge portion, designed for a large family gathering. There was a keen desire to take this same milk braised concept and translate it to a smaller-scale, more weeknight friendly meal. Chicken was the obvious choice in terms of its accessibility and simplicity. So, enter Milked Braised Chicken!
Kyle settled on Jamie Oliver’s Chicken in Milk as a starting point. It was a great choice since it does come highly recommended by the likes of the NY Times, Food52 and The Kitchn.
Oliver’s recipe is in itself, simple. It has a minimal ingredient list and not many steps. The process consists of browning a whole chicken, adding milk, lemon, sage and cinnamon, then sending it into the oven. The ingredient list may make one confused, chicken, milk and cinnamon? A weird combo, right? However, the final result has incredible flavor and textures, chicken has never tasted so succulent and tasty. The reduced milk sauce, in all of its curdled glory, is a rich and delectable complement to the chicken.
The original recipe was tweaked a bit, of course. Instead of a whole chicken, Kyle used chicken leg quarters in an attempt to increase the crispy skin-to-meat ratio of each serving. His wish was to get the best of both worlds: the crispy skin of the roasted chicken and the tender meat of a braised dish.
The key to getting the best of both chicken worlds is to ensure that your chicken pieces are not fully submerged in the milk when braising. This means you might have to adjust your amount of milk based on the size of your cooking vessel. Instead of using sage, (Kyle didn’t have any on hand), a couple of bay leaves were included. A bit of wine was added to the braising liquid, because, why not?
Another departure from the recipe was the decision to sear some halved onions and add them to the braising liquid. As we previously learned here, adding a few halved onions to a simmering sauce lends many extra dimensions to the flavor . It is a very simple addition, but well worth it. Due to the added moisture from the onions with the reduced cooking time from using the leg quarters, the braised-milk-and-curds sauce was not reducing as Kyle wanted. He returned the pan to the stove after removing the cooked chicken and onions, then further reduced the sauce for another 15 minutes. If the thinner sauce doesn’t bother you, then this extra step won’t be needed.
The final step was pureeing the sauce in a blender before serving. Now, some followers out there may feel blending the curds is sacrilege; however, it does add to the aesthetic appeal of the final product. Totally up to you though!
This recipe is a one pot (or pan) recipe. You know what this means? That is correct. Prep and clean up are easy schmeasy. This is a no fuss meal! After searing the chicken and onions, the oven really does the rest of the work, making this delicious weeknight meal taste like an all encompassing Sunday or holiday meal. You can serve this meal with a simple green salad and some potatoes (suggestion – Crispy, Salt & Vinegar Potatoes) for a low-key, yet scrumptious comfort food type of meal. Enjoy!
Adapted from Jamie Oliver
- 2 to 3 pounds chicken leg quarters
- Kosher Salt and Freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 onions, peeled and sliced in half lengthwise
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 2 ½ cups Whole Milk
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Heat oven to 375 degrees. Season the chicken aggressively with the salt and pepper. Place an oven-proof pot or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat on the stove. Add the butter and olive oil. When the butter has melted and is starting to foam, add the chicken to the pot. Cook until deep golden brown, about 5 minutes per side.
- Once the chicken pieces are browned on both sides, remove from the pot and reserve. Add the onions, cut side down, and cook until browned, about 2 to 3 minutes
- Flip the onions so the cut sides are facing up, then add the white wine and cook until it has reduced by half. Return the chicken to the pot, then add the milk, bay leaves and cinnamon stick. You don’t want the chicken to be fully submerged in the liquid, so depending on the size of your pot, you may need a little less milk.
- Place the pot into the oven, and bake for approximately 30 to 40 minutes (until an instant-read thermometer reaches 165 degrees Farenheit), and the sauce has reduced into a thick, curdled sauce. If the chicken is fully cooked and the sauce seems thin, remove the chicken and onions, and place the pot over medium-high heat until the sauce has reduced to the thick and curdled texture.(This took me about 10 minutes of simmering to get the texture I was looking for).
- Discard the cinnamon and bay leaves and serve. If you prefer a smoother sauce, puree it (without any of the chicken or onions) in a blender on high speed for 1 minute, then serve.
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