Braised Chicken and Onions with Dark Beer

It's hard to believe that a week ago we still had 100 ° highs here in Sacramento. Now it's lastly starting to seem like fall, as well as though I'm still using shorts around your home (call it rejection), the flip flops are gone and warm wooly socks have taken their location. It's time for stews and sluggish braises like this one, rich, tasty, and warming. This beer braised chicken is a riff off a classic Belgian carbonnade, a sluggish braise with sweet, malty dark beer, mustard, with chicken thighs smothered in onions.

The thing to note is that you cannot use any old beer. You want a dark beer, a "malty" beer, one that has richness and body, and sweet notes. The beer cooks down with the stock and mustard, forming a stunning sauce for the completed meal.

Braised Chicken and Onions with Dark Beer Recipe

What beer you use matters. Dark beers tend to be more complete bodied and malty and sweet. They will work well in this stew. Hoppy beers like IPA or pale ale are too bitter for this stew and should be avoided. For this dish we've used Moylan's Kilt Lifter, a Scottish ale, as well as Ommegang Abbey Ale. A soft Belgian beer like Flanders Red or among the Chimay beers would also be ideal.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 6 chicken thighs, about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds
• Salt
• 3 pounds yellow onions, sliced 1/4-inch thick, root to stem, about 6-8 cups sliced
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar, loaded
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 2 Tbsp smooth Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 cups dark beer
• 1 cup chicken stock
• Freshly ground black pepper

Method

Melt the butter in a big, heavy pot with a cover, such as a Dutch oven, over medium-high heat. Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels and set them skin side down in the butter. Salt the meat side gently. Brown the chicken on both sides well. Get rid of the browned thighs from the pan and set aside in a bowl.

The chicken skin has actually likely rendered quite a bit of fat. Drain pipes off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan, making sure to not discard any of the tasty browned bits. (Note, do not dispose of the fat down the drain, you may obstruct your plumbing. Pour off into a jar.) Lower the heat to medium and add the sliced up onions to the pan. If you want, spray brown sugar over the onions. This is optional. The sugarcoated will intensify the natural sweet taste of the onions. Cook the onions slowly, stirring occasionally, up until they begin to brown, about 15 minutes.

Add the bay leaves, thyme, mustard, 2 teaspoons of salt, and beer to the onions. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Include the chicken thighs and the chicken stock and give a simmer.

Cook covered for 45 minutes, then reveal the pot and simmer well until the liquid is greatly minimized and the meat wants to fall off the bone, between 45 minutes and 1 hour. If you are using unsalted or low salt stock, you will likely need to include more salt. Include newly ground black pepper and more salt to taste. Serve over egg noodles or with rice or potatoes.

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