Ultra tender flesh and super crispy skin smothered in a thick savoury sauce with tender vegetables. This Chicken Stew is a one pot dinner that’s easy enough for midweek. Don’t forget crusty bread for dunking!
Anyone else here not a fan of slimy chicken skin?? I don’t care how long it’s been slow cooked. And whether it’s a stew, in soup or Hainanese chicken.
No chicken skin comes near my mouth unless it’s crispy or caramelised.
When my mother reads this, I know she’s going to roll her eyes and think”she’s so childish!!”
I don’t care. I love crispy skin. I want crispy skin. Give me all the crispy skin!!! 😂
SLOW COOKED IN THE OVEN FOR CRISPY SKIN
Because I’m so anti-slimy chicken skin, I like to make my Chicken Stew in the oven rather than on the stove. And unless someone knows a magic trick (and regular readers know I love genius discoveries like how to make insanely crispy wings in the oven and how to dry brine turkey so you don’t have to deal with a bucket of liquid brine in the fridge), the only way to get crispy skin for a stew is in the oven.
Cook it covered for part of the time, then uncover it to let the sauce thicken, the surface of the veggies and edges of the stew caramelise, and – most importantly in my world – to get that chicken skin super crispy!
OK, I think I’ve babbled on enough about the chicken skin. Let me move on.
Under the crispy skin -> tender flesh.
Smothering the crispy skin -> thick savoury gravy sauce.
Around the crispy skin -> tender soft vegetables.
😇😇😇
I’m lucky enough to have a big, shallow casserole pot / dutch oven which is absolutely perfect for these kind of stews that go from stove to oven. But if you don’t have one, don’t worry, just tip it all into a baking pan before popping it into the oven.
And – confession time. The reason I cropped out most of the bowl in the photo below is because I ate the chicken before I took this photo. The side you can’t see just has bones, picked completely clean.
I couldn’t resist! Don’t judge me! 😂 – Nagi x
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 kg / 3lb bone in, skin on chicken thighs and drumsticks (6 to 8 pieces)
- Salt and pepper
- 2 onions , halved and cut into wedges
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 3 large carrots , cut thick end into 1.5cm / 3/5" pieces, thin end 2.5cm/1"
- 4 celery stalks , cut into 2cm / 4/5" chunks
- 1/2 cup / 125 ml white wine (or water)
- 3 tbsp / 35g flour
- 3 cups / 750 ml chicken broth , low low sodium
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp Worscestershire sauce
- 3 sprigs thyme , or 1 tsp dried thyme (or other herb)
- 2 bay leaves (dried or fresh)
- 600 g / 1.2lb baby potatoes , halved (quarter large ones)
- Fresh thyme or parsley (chopped)
- Warm crusty bread
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Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
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Heat oil in a large pot over high heat. Brown chicken on both sides until light golden, sprinkling with salt and pepper. Remove from pot. (Do in 2 batches if pot not big enough).
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If there's too much oil in the pot, discard some. Add onion and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes until onion is translucent.
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Add carrots and celery, cook for 1 minute.
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Add wine. Stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to dissolve the brown bits into the liquid. Cook for 1 minute until liquid is mostly gone.
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Sprinkle flour across surface, stir.
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Add broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, thyme and bay leaves. Stir to dissolve tomato paste.
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Place chicken on top, keeping the skin above the liquid level as much as you can.
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Bring to simmer then cover. Bake for 45 minutes.
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Remove from oven, remove lid. Add potatoes, pushing them into the liquid and rearranging chicken so they sit on top (for lovely crispy skin).
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Return to oven without the lid for a further 40 minutes until the chicken skin is deep golden and super crispy, the potatoes are soft and the sauce is thickened.
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Taste sauce and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
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Serve with warm crusty bread on the side to dunk in the sauce! Optional: garnish with extra fresh thyme leaves or parsley.
If you don't have a large ovenproof pot, do the whole recipe up to and including step 7 on the stove then tip it all into a baking pan. Proceed with recipe.
Nutrition per serving, assuming 6 servings and that all the sauce is consumed. The fat is higher than it should be because it doesn't take into account discarded fat after browning the skin. If you discard 2 tbsp of fat, then the calories reduces to about 640 calories per serve with 27g of fat.
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
LIFE OF DOZER
Shaved rump, permanent “help me up” harness, and trapped in a play pen.
Adding a Cone of Shame is just rubbing salt into the wound, isn’t it?
I told him not to scratch the stitches. I warned him about the cone. He did not obey!!😂
For those playing catch up, Dozer had a knee operation last week. He’s doing just fine. 4 days into a 4 month recovery before he’s hopefully back to normal! Thank you for all the lovely messages of support for him. He feels loved!!❤️ N x
I’m a really new cook. The number of dishes I know to cook wouldn’t be more than 5. I tried your garlic bread a few weeks ago and loved it. Pulled up the courage and made this a couple nights ago. It was a winner. Thanks. Really easy to follow. I’m gonna make this again, and attempt your Apple crumble this sat.
This is amazing, so tasty and perfect for these winter nights leftovers tonight 😊 another one for the list yay!!
WOW! This is FABULOUS! Easy to make with ingredients I already had on hand and worth making again and again! YUM! The chicken slipped under so when it was done I took the chicken out and put it under the broiler for 5 minutes and it was perfect. My husband is raving about it!
That’s so great to hear Sarah! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed this! N x
Can you use Chicken Breast instead? I only have that in the fridge at present.
Hi Sue! You sure can, but what I would do is follow recipe as is and even sear the breast, but then refrigerate it while the stew is cooking and only return the breast into the pot for the last 20 minutes, just to cook through so it’s still juicy on the inside. 🙂 N x
Yes. Chicken Brest can be use in several ways, for a healthier a more economical way of cooking.
If I could give this 10 stars I would! Absolutely delicious. It took me a bit longer than the recipe said but I think it’s because I have an old horrible stove 😬. No matter, the end result was amazing! This will become a staple in my home especially in the colder months. Comfort food at its best! Thank you….
Glad you enjoyed this Linda!!! Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback! N x
Awesome recipe!!! I add cilantro and chopped green and roasted red pepperswhen cooking the onions and garlic! Substitute Worcestershire sause for sweet red wine and dont use flour. Generally thicken the sause by mashing some of the potatoes. I also add petite peas. 🙂 I love to eat this over steam rice!!!!! Dynamite recipe!!!!
I’m glad you enjoyed this Enrique! Thank you for letting me know 🙂 N x
I made this tonight, and it is AMAZING. My new fave.. thank you for recipe.
I’m glad you enjoyed this Cricket! Thank you for letting me know 🙂 N x
Crispy Chicken is the only way to eat it…. can’t wait to make this …
Hope you do try it Pam! N x
I’m trying this today. It looks amazing! We’ll let you know.
Hope you love it BJ! 🙂
Just curious. You said to place the stew in the oven for 45 with the cover on then another 45 with the cover off, wouldn’t that over cook the chicken?
It goes beyond that to super tender 🙂 Literally falling off the bone under that crispy skin!
Nagi
Another success, I’m thoroughly enjoying your recipes, well this is the 2nd recipe I’ve cooked from yours and certainly won’t be the last.
Thanks for sharing your recipes.
All the best
Melody
That’s so great to hear Melody! I’m so happy to hear that! N x ❤️
Greetings from Scotland NAGI!! This was delicious- thanks for the recipe. I’m just about to make it again for my nieces and nephews and they are fussy wee besoms so I’ll let you know the verdict. 😀
That’s so great to hear Joyce! I’m so happy to hear that! N x ❤️
I made this dish for supper last night and it was so delicious it will now be a regular in our home. thank you for sharing your recipes I will be looking for more recipes
I’m so pleased you enjoyed this Pat! Thank you for taking the time to let me know! N xx
Amazing stew Nagi, chicken came out crisp & sauce was yum. My husband polished the dish, testament to your crisp instuctions. Thank you so much for this gem of a recipe – my go to for stew.
Hi Nagi
I LOVE your recipes! I made this one last week and my family have requested I make it for our extended family dinner, which will be 8 adults & 3 kids. Can I double and a half it all in the one pot (I have a huge one) but use skin off chicken as obviously a lot will not be able to be on the surface to get crispy.
Thanks, not just for this but all your amazingly yummy receipes
Hello Nagi, this recipe was easy and delicious .Thank you for sharing.
I’ve been cooking some of your recipes for a few months now, and this one takes the cake. I spent a couple of days preparing for it and made it slightly differently, making my own chicken stock after cutting out the bones in advance. It made some of the skin fall off but the chicken still crisped up in the oven. I also pre-roasted my potatoes during the first 45 minutes of the stew baking before popping them in because I only had soup potatoes and was worried they would fall apart otherwise. The gravy is just something else, so packed with flavour. I can’t wait for the reheats tomorrow.
Oh my goodness…… this is divine!
If I wasn’t so full from shoveling this into my mouth I would of licked the bowl!
In the end I feel like I can’t breath from being such a piggy!
Everyone loved this! Another winner….. Jeez woman u make me look in in my house!
xxx Loving everything u do xxx
Hi Nagi…. got to agree with Kerry’s comments! Love your recipes – always turn out as you say they will! Your extra recipe notes make all the difference. The Chicken Stew was delish…. lamb shanks with red wine sauce tonight :-).
Thank you Rebecca, that’s so kind of you to say! Oooh… lamb shanks …. now you’ve got me with a hankering!
Hello Nagi, LOVE LOVE this one, super easy and yes Ide have to agree you are the queen of all things gravy!! This flavour is one you can devour, the chicken stayed so crispy ( I love your tips ) I love your blog! I love cooking and I especially love it when the family eat everything you cook for them. Everything I try from your recipes always works out perfect. It’s so easy to try new things when it’s explained as us humans think 🤔 and with a video. I wish I could post up a photo (cause I get a bit proud) when it looks so dam good. Thank for making life a little easier. Tonight it’s Char Sui Pork with garlic Butter rice with kale. Yum.