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Chicken Thighs Stuffed with Caramelized Onions and Kale; Blood Orange Gastrique

Main Dish • Chicken
Source: Mike Weller

Ingredients

  • Stuffing:
  • 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 4 stems kale, leaves only, cut chiffonade into 1/2“ strips
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1-2 teaspoons red chili flakes
  • Zest of 1 blood orange or standard navel orange
  • 1 Cup 1/4 “dice stale bread
  • ~ 3/4 Cup low-sodium chicken stock
  • Chicken:
  • 4 each boneless, skin-on chicken thighs
  • Salt and pepper
  • Toothpicks
  • 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
  • Braising stock:
  • 1 1/2 Cups low sodium chicken stock
  • 1/2 Cup dry white wine
  • 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin-OR 1 Tablespoon cornstarch mixed with cold water and added just before serving the sauce
  • Gastrique:
  • 1/4 Cup water
  • 2 Tablespoons sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons Sherry vinegar
  • 1 1/2 Cup blood or navel orange juice
  • 2 Tablespoons very cold butter, diced into 6 pieces

Directions

  • 1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the oil, and when the oil is hot add in the onions and salt. Cook until the onions turn limp, then mix the water and baking soda together and add into the pan with the onions. Put a lid on the sauté pan and cook for 5 minutes. Now remove the lid and allow the onions to cook down until golden brown. Add the kale, and cook until it too becomes limp. Now add the garlic and await the amazing aroma. Once you can smell the garlic, add in the chili flake and orange zest. Now toss in the bread cubes and remove from the heat. Add in the chicken stock to form a moldable paste.
  • 2. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Add about ¼ of the stuffing, shaped into a log, to the inside of each chicken thigh. If needed, use toothpicks to hold the chicken thighs closed. Heat the oil in your original sauté pan until hot, then add the chicken thighs and brown very well on all sides.
  • 3. Mix together the ingredients for the braising sauce, and add to the pan with the chicken thighs. Use a wooden spoon to scrub the bottom of the pan clean.
  • Bring the liquids to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and place into the oven for 30 minutes. Confirm that the chicken has reached at least a 175° internal temperature, then remove from the oven. Put a kitchen towel or hot pad on the handle of the pan, to remind you that it is very hot. Remove the chicken thighs and tent with foil, allowing them to rest.
  • 4. While the chicken cooks, get a small saucepot. Add the water, and then carefully add the sugar to the middle of the pot, piling it up in the center and avoiding the sides of the pot. Turn the heat up to high and watch the pot like it was the Grail. Do not stir! The sugar will dissolve into the water, and then turn golden brown as it caramelizes. When it does, quickly remove the pot from the heat. Lean back, because the fumes are going to be intense, and add the vinegar. Stir with a VERY long wooden spoon. Add in the orange juice and continue to stir. You have just made a gastrique!
  • 5. Use the gastrique to season the pan full of braising juices. Add, a little at a time, and stir. Taste as you go, until you achieve a wonderful balance between the sharp/sweet vinegar and the rich chicken jus. Finally, swirl in the cold butter and serve the sauce alongside your rested chicken thighs.

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