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Captain Improv’s Easy Lemon Chicken

Captain Improv’s Creamy Lemon Chicken

  • Author: Charmian Christie
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 2 hours
  • Total Time: 2 hours 15 mins
  • Yield: 4 to 6 1x
  • Category: Chicken
  • Cuisine: North American

Description

This recipe uses what I had hand in the fridge or freezer. I assume you will have some of the items at the ready. I’d be shocked if you have all of them. That’s not the point. This isn’t a follow-along recipe.  It’s a reach-in-and-grab demonstration. Dinner shouldn’t be prescriptive.  Improvise. Let your imagination fly and see what meal emerges from the oven once heat and time have worked their magic.


Scale

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds chicken breast, bone in, skin removed (this would work for thighs as well)
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 2 onions, peeled and sliced in half moons
  • 2 carrots, peeled and cut in large pieces
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 3 sprigs fresh thyme
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 cup (about 1/3 bottle) fruity dry white wine (pinot grigio)
  • 1/4 cup pear ice wine (pear nectar or apple juice will do if you don’t have it)
  • finely grated zest of 1 lemon
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1/4 cup cream

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
  2. In a heavy Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high. Place the fleshy side down and cook for a few minutes until golden. Set the chicken aside on a plate. Add the onions, carrots and garlic. Cook until the onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Nestle the chicken breasts in the onions, bone side up. Be sure to add any juice that escaped while the chicken rested. Tuck the thyme in with the breasts. Give a good grinding of salt and pepper. Add the wine and the ice wine (or juice). Cover and cook 90 minutes to 2 hours or until the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender. The time will vary with how big your chicken breasts are.
  3. Remove the chicken from the cooking liquid and place on a plate with a rim. Place a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and strain the cooking liquids through it, pressing the moisture out of the onions and carrots with the back of a ladle. Return the strained liquid to the Dutch oven and place over medium to medium-high heat. Add the zest and lemon juice and bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Add the cream and any juices from the resting chicken. Whisk in to combine and taste, adjusting salt and pepper as needed.
  4. Gently, pull the meat from the breast bone, then cut into thick slices. Return the chicken slices to the sauce. Serve immediately.