Braised Chicken Legs With Wild Mushrooms

Name: Braised Chicken Legs With Wild Mushrooms
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 1 ounce dried porcini; 1 ounce dried morels; 6 large chicken legs (about 4 pounds); Salt and pepper; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick); 2 cups finely diced onion; 3 ounces thick-cut bacon, sliced crosswise 1/4-inch wide; 1 tablespoon tomato paste; 2 garlic cloves, minced; Pinch of cayenne; 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1 cup red wine; 4 cups turkey or chicken broth; 1 bay leaf; 1 large thyme sprig; 1 1/2 pounds small yellow-fleshed potatoes; 3 tablespoons chopped parsley

By David Tanis

Total Time: 2 hours
Rating: 4(374)
Comments: Read comments

A good roasted chicken is a simple pleasure, but a braised chicken dish is always more interesting. Here, dried wild mushrooms, smoked bacon and red wine perfume the sauce to give these chicken legs depth and character, with a flavor nearly similar to a game bird. Using turkey broth makes this braise even more heady. For a quick, concentrated broth, simmer 2 pounds of meaty turkey wings with 6 cups water for about an hour. Finding a dried wild mushroom is not like hunting for its fresh counterpart in the forest. Most Italian delis and nearly all supermarkets sell little packets of dried wild mushrooms.

Featured in: A Chicken That Finds Its Flavor in the Wild

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings

1ounce dried porcini
1ounce dried morels
6large chicken legs (about 4 pounds)
Salt and pepper
4tablespoons unsalted butter (½ stick)
2cups finely diced onion
3ounces thick-cut bacon, sliced crosswise ¼-inch wide
1tablespoon tomato paste
2garlic cloves, minced
Pinch of cayenne
2tablespoons all-purpose flour
1cup red wine
4cups turkey or chicken broth
1bay leaf
1large thyme sprig
1½pounds small yellow-fleshed potatoes
3tablespoons chopped parsley

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Rinse porcini with warm water (they are often sandy), then place in a small bowl, cover with hot water and soak until softened, about 15 minutes. In a separate bowl, soak the morels in hot water.
Step 2
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken legs on a baking sheet in one layer. Season generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Roast, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, or until nicely browned. Remove and set aside. Turn oven to 350 degrees.
Step 3
Meanwhile, make the sauce: Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to color.
Step 4
Add bacon and tomato paste, stir to incorporate with onions, and cook for about 1 minute, then stir in garlic and cayenne. Sprinkle with flour and stir to coat. Add wine and cook for 1 minute, then whisk in turkey broth and bring to a simmer. The sauce will thicken slightly. Add bay leaf and thyme sprig. Drain porcini and morels and add to sauce.
Step 5
Submerge browned chicken legs in sauce and bring to a brisk simmer. Cover and transfer pot to oven. Bake for about 1 hour, until chicken is tender. Remove from oven and keep covered.
Step 6
While chicken bakes, make the potatoes: Put potatoes in a saucepan and cover with 1 inch of water. Add 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a brisk simmer and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.
Step 7
Drain potatoes and let cool. Peel potatoes with a paring knife and return to saucepan. (Alternatively, potatoes may be peeled before cooking, or you may opt to leave skins on.) Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter and 1 cup water. Bring to a simmer over high heat to warm potatoes through, then set aside, covered.
Step 8
To serve, divide legs among 6 warm plates. Spoon sauce and mushrooms over each serving. Sprinkle parsley over potatoes and place a few potatoes on each plate. Transfer remaining potatoes and buttery juices to a serving dish. Serve remaining sauce in a gravy boat if desired.

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Ratings

4 out of 5

374 user ratings

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Comments

Jon6 years ago

This looks great but curious about why you are not using the mushroom soaking water for part of the liquid (strained through a cheesecloth). Seems like that would amp up the flavor quite a bit.

Bob6 years ago

Can't wait to try this as I'm a huge fan of chicken braises. But I think things are easier as well as more flavorful if you simply flour, season and brown the legs in the pan on the stove, then remove. Don't clean the pan, keep that "fond" but do the sauce, add legs and continue on stove. No need to heat oven or use separate pans. Also, it seems very wrong to make something based on poulet chasseur without some booze! I'd add a splash of brandy, or white wine

Charlie6 years ago

Add water from soaking mushrooms to sauce. It is full of the expensive mushrooms' flavor

Vivian Rabenstein7 months ago

This was a hit! I just used basic sliced mushrooms because I wanted to keep the recipe simple. I also made this with brown rice instead of potatoes. Check this out, the next day I grabbed some corn tortillas, eggs, arugula, and parmesan cheese and made tacos with the leftovers. Let me tell you, those tacos with the leftover stew meat were fire!

Glen1 year ago

I wanted to make this dish, but the dried mushrooms were going to cost $30-$35. I can't justify that for a chicken dish.

Hazel1 year ago

I followed as best I could but made some substitutions: had no red wine, so I took some red wine vinegar, water, and blackberry manischewitz and combine to equal 1 cup. It's a strange combo but balanced out very nicely! Also, it's Chanterelle season so I used some of those that I found and filled the gap with baby bellas. I didn't get to enjoy the recipe in true form but it still came together really well.

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