Beer Braised Chicken and Onion

I have the inspiration to cook something with beer when I tried Beer Beef Stewed from Le Petit Déjeuner last saturdate with Mr. J. And then, I came across this recipe from Simply Recipe 

Well, long story short, let's just cut to the chase. Here's the recipe or you can go to that link above for more step by step direction :D

Beer Braised Chicken and Onion

Cooking time : 2-3 hours

Serve : 2 hungry couple

note that I halved this recipe and slightly change some of the ingredients. And I find the liquid and meat ratio from Elise's recipe really perfect.

Ingredients:

1 tbs olive oil

3 chicken tight

salt

3.5 cups yellow onion, sliced

1 tbs brown sugar

1 bay leaf

3 stems fresh thyme

1 tbs dijon mustard

175 ml dark beer (I use Guinness, since it's easier to get)

125 ml chicken stock

black pepper

1. Pour the olive oil in a large pot with lid, over medium-high heat. Place the chicken tight skin side down in the oil. Salt the meat side lightly. Brown the chicken real nice on both sides. Remove the browned chicken from the pan and set aside.

2. Drain off the fat from the chicken skin and left about 2 tbs in the pan. Do not remove the browned bits yet. Lower the heat to medium and add the sliced onion to the pan. This is optional, but in this step you can the brown sugar to intensify the sweetness of the onions. Cook the onion slowly, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown. That's about 15 minutes.

3. Add the beer and chicken stock, bay leaf, thyme, mustard and salt to the onion. Scrape up any browned bits in the bottom of the pot using a wooden spoon. Add the chicken tight and bring to simmer.

4. Cover for 45 minutes, then uncover the pot and simmer well until the liquid is reduced and the meat starting to fall off the bone, about 1 hour. Taste if you still need seasoning. You can serve it over chicken noodle, pasta, rice or just vegetable (carrot and broccoli)

5. If you find it too oily, you can scoop off the oil using a large spoon. Drag the edge of the utensil just under the layer of oil to collect it. You will end up discarding a little bit of the soup, but this is unfortunately unavoidable. If you're using butter (instead of olive oil like me) you can place the soup in the fridge and the fat will solidify and make it easier to scoop.

Note : this soup is even better the next day, after you heat it up and simmer it more, the soup will reduced more and creates more intense flavour