Braised Ranchero Chicken Food

BRAISED CHICKEN TARRAGON

Steps:

• Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken, skin side down; cook until skin is browned, about 5 minutes. Turn, and cook until other side is browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate; set aside.
• Add leeks to skillet; cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add tarragon; cook 1 minute. Add wine; deglaze pan, scraping up any browned bits from bottom, until liquid evaporates. Add stock and zest. Cover; bring to a boil. Return chicken to skillet; simmer, covered, over medium-low heat until cooked through, 35 to 40 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to a platter; keep warm. Place skillet over high heat; cook until sauce thickens, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. To serve, spoon sauce over chicken; garnish with tarragon sprigs.

BRAISED AND ROASTED CHICKEN WITH VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350. Put the chicken fat in a roasting pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Sprinkle the leg quarters with salt and pepper and add them to the pan, flesh side down. Cook, turning and rotating the pieces as necessary, until well browned on both sides, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove, then add the breast halves, skin side down. Brown them well, then flip and cook for just 1 minute or so; remove to a separate plate.
• Put the leeks, carrots, celery, mushrooms, herbs and chicken-wing meat in the same pan and cook until the vegetables are tender and beginning to brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Nestle the leg quarters among the vegetables, meaty side up. Add enough of the stock to come about halfway up the thighs. (The amount will depend on the breadth of your pan; add a little water if necessary.)
• Put the pan in the oven and cook, uncovered, for about 1 hour, checking occasionally and stirring the vegetables if they threaten to brown too much. When the thigh meat is tender, raise the heat to 400 and lay the breast halves on the vegetables, skin side up. Continue cooking until they are done, 20 to 30 minutes longer.
• Transfer the vegetables to a platter. You can serve one of two ways: slice the breasts and shred the leg-and-thigh meat and lay the meat on top of the vegetables; or cut the leg-thigh pieces in half, cut the breasts in half and give each person a little of each. Garnish with reserved chopped celery leaves.

RANCHERO SAUCE

Steps:

• Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Cook and stir onion in the bacon grease until onion is transparent, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove bacon from skillet and drain on a paper towel-lined plate; crumble.
• Stir chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce, cilantro, jalapeno pepper, salt, pepper, and crumbled bacon into onion; bring to a simmer and cook until flavors blend, about 15 minutes.

COUNTRY BRAISED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed braising pan over medium-high heat. Generously season both sides of chicken legs with salt and pepper. When the oil is slightly smoking, add chicken legs and brown, about 5 minutes per side.
• While chicken is browning, peel and chop the carrots; dice the celery and onion. (All the pieces should be about the same size.) Make sure the chicken is browning evenly on both sides.When the chicken is nicely browned, remove from the pan and set aside. Add vegetables to the pan, stir to combine, and reduce heat to medium. Next, peel and lightly smash the garlic; add to pan. Sweat the vegetables for 5 minutes, being careful not to brown. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
• Add tomato paste, raise the temperature to medium-high, and stir to incorporate; the tomato paste will begin to stick to the bottom of the pan as it browns. Deglaze pan with cognac in two additions (being careful for flare-ups!). Let the alcohol cook off until the pan is almost dry, stirring the vegetables and scraping down the sides of the pan to prevent burning. Add white wine and allow it to reduce. Add parsley, bay leaves, thyme, and rosemary to the pan; then spread the chicken pieces on top in an even layer. Pour in just enough chicken broth to cover the meat halfway without submerging. Bring to a simmer, then cover the pan and place in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes.
• Remove from oven and place chicken legs on a rimmed serving platter. Strain cooking liquid into a small saucepan, reserving vegetables. Over medium to high heat, reduce liquid at a simmer until it is thick enough to thinly coat a spoon. Taste, and adjust seasoning as needed. To plate: Place chicken on a plate and add some reserved vegetables. Pour reduced sauce generously over each serving. Garnish with torn parsley leaves and serve.

RANCHERO CHICKEN FRIED STEAK W/COUNTRY STYLE GRAVY

Steps:

• In a large Ziploc bag, combine the flour, 1 dressing packet mix, salt and pepper.
• In a shallow baking dish, combine 2 cups of buttermilk, beaten egg and 1 dressing packet mix; soak cube steaks in mixture.
• While steaks are soaking, make the gravy: in a small pot, combine 1 cup buttermilk, broth and dry graving mix; simmer over medium heat and stir well and keep warm.
• One by one, add each steak into Ziploc bag and shake to coat; dip steak back again in buttermilk mixture and recoat and shake in Ziploc bag.
• In a deep skillet, heat 1/2 inch of oil to 350 degrees; fry steaks for about 4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.
• Drain on paper towels; serve with gravy and side dishes.

CHICKEN RANCHERO

Steps:

• Saute chicken over medium heat,in olive oil about 5 minutes.
• Add onions and continue cooking until chicken is done and onions are soft (about 10 more minutes).
• Add garlic, green chiles and broth.
• Bring to boiling.
• Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 30 minutes.
• Stir in salsa.
• Bring to a boil.
• Remove from heat.
• Gently fold in cubed cheddar cheese.
• Serve immediately over beds of rice.

GARLIC-BRAISED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large Dutch oven over medium-high, add enough oil to lightly coat the bottom. Season the chicken with salt on both sides, then add to the pot skin side down. Cook until the skin turns golden and crispy, 8 to 10 minutes. If the skin browns too quickly, lower the heat. Flip, and sear the other side briefly, about 1 minute. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
• Add the garlic to the schmaltzy oil over medium-high, and stir until fragrant and very lightly golden at the edges, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the white pepper, then immediately add the wine and 1 cup water. Scrape up any stuck-on bits from the bottom of the pot while bringing the liquid to a simmer. Nestle the chicken in the pot skin side up, cover and cook in the oven until the chicken and garlic are meltingly tender, and the wine has reduced, about 1 hour. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt if needed. Serve with rice.

SAVORY BRAISED CHICKEN WITH VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Place bread crumbs in a shallow bowl. Dip chicken breasts in bread crumbs to coat both sides; shake off excess., In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken in batches; cook 2-4 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from pan., Add broth, tomato paste and seasonings to same pan; cook over medium-high heat, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan. Add vegetables and chicken; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 25-30 minutes or until vegetables are tender and a thermometer inserted in chicken reads 165°. If desired, serve with baguette.