Lily Mae’s Chicken

[fifi]

Lily Mae’s Chicken

Serves 4 as Main Dish.

A fantastic cook and housekeeper that worked for friends for many years prepared this recipe. She would prepare really large pans of this for large parties. (They had a commercial style kitchen at the big house north of Lake Pontchartrain.) The good news is that the quantity can be varied depending upon how big your pans and ovens are. It can also be downsized for a more normal crowd. It was always served with rice. To demonstrate how this recipe works, I will go through it for about 8 thighs in a medium size Dutch oven.

Chicken pieces:

Your choice: My favorite is thighs, skinless or not. If you use breast, cut in half so the pieces are not too big. I wouldn’t use all breast. You need the flavor from the thighs. I don’t care for the texture of braised chicken skin so I often do this with skinless thighs but that is a personal preference.

• 
  

The chicken

• 8 thighs, skinless or not
  

The sauce

• 1 part olive oil, extra virgin not necessary
  
• 1 part fresh squeezed lemon juice
  
• 2 parts dry white wine
  
• 2 whole heads of garlic, peeled or not
  

Salt and pepper the chicken to taste. You want it pretty salty.

Heat 1 cup oil in the pot and brown the chicken over medium to medium high heat.

Add 1 cup lemon juice and 2 cups white wine. The sauce should pretty much cover the chicken. If it doesn’t (depending upon the size of the chicken pieces) just make up a little more and add.

Add 20 or more garlic cloves. Sometimes I don’t bother with all of that garlic peeling. Just cut the whole heads of garlic in half. You can pick out the husks later.

Put the uncovered pan into a 325 degree F oven. Baste and turn the chicken about every 20 minutes. A bulb baster is great for this. This will take an hour or more. When the chicken is falling off the bone tender and the sauce has reduced a bit, it is ready.

Notes:

For really large quantities you can skip the browning and cook at a lower temperature for a longer time and some browning will happen. I think that is what she did for the big crowds.

For variations, you can add herbs of choice, diced preserved lemon, capers, or olives.

I have also braised this dish in a covered clay pot at 250 degrees F for 2 to 2 ½ hours. The sauce texture is wonderful with this method. A single serving from that method is what is in the picture. My discussion of this recipe in eGullet Culinary Institute (eGCI) is here.

We have discussed this type of braising in general in the eGCI here.

Keywords: Main Dish, Easy, Chicken, Lunch, Dinner

( RG1171 )