Golden Chicken

This chicken dish combines elements from three of my favorite chicken recipes: chicken curry, chicken tagine, and a Creole-style smothered chicken. The braising liquid is rich and delicious, getting its yellow golden color from turmeric and saffron and its intense flavor from a low-and-slow simmer. Serve over buttery mashed potatoes, rice, or noodles. Ladle the sauce over top, and garnish with sliced green onions and minced jalapeños.


Recipes · Meat and Poultry · Chicken · Chicken Leg Recipes


Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 2 hrs 10 mins
Servings: 4
Total Time: 2 hrs 25 mins
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

Ingredients List

  • 4 (12 ounce) chicken leg quarters

  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 1 cup diced onion

  • ½ cup diced celery

  • ½ cup diced jalapeño pepper

  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin

  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

  • ¼ teaspoon ground coriander

  • ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

  • ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed

  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste

  • 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

  • 2 ½ cups cold water

  • 1 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed

  • 1 teaspoon dried currants

  • 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon base


Directions

  1. Place chicken leg quarters on a work surface with the skin facing up. Make a cut into the thickest part of each drumstick, all the way down to the bone. Then make two cuts, about 1 inch apart, right in the center of each thigh. Season both sides generously with 2 teaspoons kosher salt.

  2. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add chicken, skin-side down, and sear until skin is nicely browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Flip and sear for 2 more minutes. Turn off the heat and remove chicken to a plate, leaving any rendered fat in the skillet.

  3. Turn the heat back on to medium; add onion, celery, jalapeño, and a pinch of salt to the skillet. Sauté until onion turns translucent and veggies have softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add cumin, paprika, coriander, turmeric, pepper, cayenne, cinnamon, and garlic; cook and stir until garlic has cooked a bit and spices are toasted, about 2 minutes.

  4. Stir in tomato paste, vinegar, water, and saffron. Increase heat to high and stir in currants and chicken base; bring to a simmer.

  5. Add chicken to the skillet, skin-side up, and reduce heat to low. Baste chicken with the liquid. Cover and cook over low or medium-low heat at a gentle simmer for 1 hour.

  6. Flip chicken, cover, and simmer gently until the meat is fork-tender and almost falling off the bone, about 30 more minutes.

  7. Flip and baste chicken again. Increase heat to medium and cook, uncovered, until chicken is very tender and the braising liquid has reduced a bit, 20 to 30 minutes more.

  8. Taste the braising liquid and adjust seasoning if needed before serving.

Chef's Notes:

Chicken legs include the thigh and drumstick. This can be made with chicken breasts, but the cooking time will be much less. You'd need to remove the chicken breasts once they were cooked through and set them aside while the liquid cooks and reduces by half. Then add them back in just long enough to reheat them before serving.

You can use green bell pepper instead of jalapeño, any vinegar instead of white vinegar, and chicken broth instead of water and chicken base.

For a thicker sauce, add a tablespoon of flour when you are sautéing the vegetables.

As the liquids are reducing, you can skim off some of the fat if you like.


Nutrition Facts (per serving)

Nutrition Facts
707 Calories
45g Fat
9g Carbs
63g Protein


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