Quick–Braised Honey Dijon Chicken with White Cooking Wine Is a Weeknight Dinner Win
There’s a lot of buzz around what to serve for festive, celebratory meals throughout the holiday season. Feeding ourselves every other night of the week in November and December often falls at the wayside. However, one can’t subsist on Thanksgiving turkey and holiday cookies alone!
Getting dinner on the table amidst the hustle and bustle of the season doesn’t need to add more stress to your already packed end-of-year agenda. With the help of Holland House White Cooking Wine, it’s possible to whip up an easy and impressive weeknight meal on non-holiday days no matter how busy you might be. Here, juicy chicken thighs are quick-braised in a savory white cooking wine and mustard sauce infused with thyme, shallots, and honey. The best part? It all comes together in just one skillet in about 30 minutes.
The Secret Ingredient to Quick, Easy, and Impressive Weeknight Meals
Holland House White Cooking Wine is the secret to unlocking flavor on even the busiest nights. The slightly dry but distinctive cooking wine delivers crisp aroma and flavor to any dish it touches, including this impressive yet approachable honey Dijon chicken. It’s the key to turning an ordinary chicken skillet into an extraordinary one, while still keeping your time in the kitchen to a minimum.
The bright notes of the cooking wine pair perfectly with sweet honey, tangy Dijon mustard, and savory herbs to deliver a pan sauce for the chicken that’s nothing short of a show-stealer. Serve the crispy chicken with its creamy sauce over rice, mashed potatoes, creamy polenta, or even simply in shallow bowls with a spoon to polish off every last saucy bit and relish this winter weeknight dinner win.
Quick–Braised Honey Dijon Chicken with White Cooking Wine
Prep time 5 minutes
Cook time 27 minutes to 31 minutes
Serves4
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 4
bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (1 1/2 to 2 pounds total)
- 1 teaspoon
kosher salt, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 1 tablespoon
olive oil
- 1
large shallot
- 1
small bunch fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons
Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons
whole-grain Dijon mustard (or use an additional 2 tablespoons of regular Dijon, for a total of 1/4 cup regular Dijon)
- 2 tablespoons
honey
- 1 cup
Instructions
Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F. Pat 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs dry with paper towels and season all over with 1/2 teaspoon of the kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the black pepper.
Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil into a 10-inch or larger oven-safe skillet. Place the chicken skin-side down in the cold pan. Cook undisturbed over medium-high heat until the skin is well-browned and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Meanwhile, finely chop 1 large shallot. Strip the leaves from 1 small bunch of thyme until you have 1 tablespoon. Place 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard, and 2 tablespoons honey in a small bowl and stir to combine.
Transfer the chicken to a plate, skin-side up. Add the shallot and half of the thyme to the skillet. Season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallot is softened and lightly browned, about 1 minute.
Add 1 cup Holland House White Cooking Wine and simmer, stirring constantly and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, until the cooking wine has reduced by half, 6 to 8 minutes.
Add the honey mustard mixture and whisk to combine. Nestle the chicken skin-side up in the sauce, and add any juices accumulated on the plate to the pan. Transfer the skillet to the oven and braise until the chicken is cooked through and registers at least 165ºF on an instant-read thermometer, 10 to 12 minutes. Garnish with the remaining thyme leaves.
Recipe Notes
Storage: Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.