This has to be on the top ten best all time dinners that we have ever served. We served the chicken with butter milk mashed potatoes and herb roasted onions and because all items went beautifully together we thought we would offer recipes and instructions for the entire meal. The buttermilk mashed potatoes are part of this recipe, follow the link for the Herb Roasted Onions. The meal takes a bit of prep but the extra steps are, so incredibly, worth the flavor.
Chicken and Brine
To prepare the airline breast, begin with a bone in breast, wing attached. Extend the wing and cut through and around the skin just below the wing joint. Bend the wing tip back and pull right off the joint. Use your knife to carefully scrape any meat and skin back to expose a clean bone. Using a pairing knife, remove the rib bones as well (You can also have your butcher do this for you.) Place breasts in a ziplock bag, cover with combined salt/sugar/water brine and refrigerate for 12–24 hours. After brining period, remove breasts from brine and rinse well. Pat dry with paper towels and arrange on a cooling rack, set inside a cookie sheet.
Dry uncovered in the refrigerator for 12–24 hours. The skin will have a translucent look when removed from the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 400 °F. Season the chicken lightly on both sides with kosher salt.
Heat a large ovenproof sauce pan over medium-high heat (2 pans can be used to accommodate the chicken breasts if need be), we like to use a Paella Pan this large pan can accommodate up to 6 breasts and because it does not have a long handle it fits nicely in our oven. Put 1/4 cup of clarified butter or oil in each pan (if using 2) or 1/2 cup in one pan and cook the chicken halves, skin side down, for about 4 minutes or until golden brown.
Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for about 6–10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through (depends on the oven and altitude).
Remove the chickens from the pan, sprinkle with fresh cracked pepper, and let them rest for about 5 minutes.
Put the lemon slices in the pan and let them cook over high heat for about 1 minute so that they caramelize.
Add the wine and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon and scraping up any browned bits, for 2 to 3 minutes, until reduced by half. Add the unsalted butter and capers and stir the sauce to emulsify the butter with the pan juices.
Squeeze the lemon juice into the sauce, remove from the heat, and continue stirring until blended.
Stir in the parsley.
Put a chicken half on each serving plate, atop the mashed potatoes, skin side up, and spoon equal amounts of sauce over each. Place herb roasted onions on the side and serve immediately.
We love Meyer lemons because they grow on our property, but regular lemons are great too! When we served this recently at a dinner party, Pepper and I looked at each other and had an Ah-ha moment.
We started with champagne cocktails to match our all red Christmas decor. We placed a spoonful of fresh pomegranate seeds at the bottom of a champagne glass, followed by an ounce of “POM” pomegranate juice and topped with champagne.
I should also mention that my favorite new pan was, like a baseball bat is, to a home run. I have forever wanted a very large pan, with handles that would not only fit over a gas burner but also in the oven, and of course if it could accommodate 6-8 chicken breast all the better. Then it hit me, why not a large Paella pan, follow the link to see some of our favorites. Well needless to say now I use this pan for everything. In addition to this recipe, see how we grilled a whole turkey using a Paella pan.
Four secret tips and yes, they are absolutely worth the extra time.
- Use “Airline Chicken Breasts” – boneless, skin on chicken breast with part of the wing/drumette attached.
- Brine – Brining will result in super moist, moist, moist chicken.
- Cold Air Dry – Drying, uncovered in the refrigerator, will result in a very crispy skin.
- We love using a Paella pan for this preparation, however 1 or 2 ovenproof sauté pans can be used instead.
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 48 hours 20 minutes
Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
Chicken
- 6 Airline Chicken Breasts (An airline breast is a boneless, skin on chicken breast with part of the wing/drumette attached.)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup Clarified Butter (instruction in Notes) or vegetable oil
- 2 lemons, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
- 2 cups dry white wine
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons drained capers
- juice of 2 lemons
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Brine
- 50 grams of Kosher salt
- 30 grams of sugar
- 1000 grams of water
Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
- Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 pounds boiling potatoes
- 1/4 cup milk
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Chicken and Brine
- To prepare the airline breast, begin with a bone in breast, wing attached. Extend the wing and cut through and around the skin just below the wing joint. Bend the wing tip back and pull right off the joint. Use your knife to carefully scrape any meat and skin back to expose a clean bone. Using a pairing knife, remove the rib bones as well (You can also have your butcher do this for you.)
- Place breasts in a ziplock bag, cover with combined salt/sugar/water brine and refrigerate for 12–24 hours.
- After brining period, remove breasts from brine and rinse well. Pat dry with paper towels and arrange on a cooling rack, set inside a cookie sheet.
- Dry uncovered in the refrigerator for 12–24 hours. The skin will have a translucent look when removed from the fridge.
- Preheat the oven to 400 °F.
- Season the chicken lightly on both sides with kosher salt.
- Heat a large ovenproof sauce pan over medium-high heat (2 pans can be used to accommodate the chicken breasts if need be), we like to use a Paella Pan this large pan can accommodate up to 6 breasts and because it does not have a long handle it fits nicely in our oven. Put 1/4 cup of clarified butter or oil in each pan (if using 2) or 1/2 cup in one pan and cook the chicken halves, skin side down, for about 4 minutes or until golden brown.
- Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for about 6–10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through (depends on the oven and altitude).
- Remove the chickens from the pan, sprinkle with fresh cracked pepper, and let them rest for about 5 minutes.
- Put the lemon slices in the pan and let them cook over high heat for about 1 minute so that they caramelize.
- Add the wine and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon and scraping up any browned bits, for 2 to 3 minutes, until reduced by half.
- Add the unsalted butter and capers and stir the sauce to emulsify the butter with the pan juices.
- Squeeze the lemon juice into the sauce, remove from the heat, and continue stirring until blended.
- Stir in the parsley.
- Put a chicken half on each serving plate, atop the mashed potatoes, skin side up, and spoon equal amounts of sauce over each. Place herb roasted onions on the side and serve immediately.
Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
- In a large pot, bring 2 quarts of water and 1 tablespoon of salt to a boil. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and cut them into 1 1/2-inch cubes. Add them to the boiling water and bring the water back to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes fall apart easily when pierced with a fork.
- Meanwhile, heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan, making sure it doesn’t boil. Set aside until the potatoes are done.
- As soon as the potatoes are tender, drain them in a colander. Place a food mill fitted with a small disk/blade over a heatproof bowl. Pass the potatoes through the food mill, turning the handle back and forth. As soon as the potatoes are mashed, stir in the hot milk mixture with a whisk or rubber spatula. Add enough buttermilk to make the potatoes creamy. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and the pepper, and serve hot. To keep the potatoes warm, place the bowl over a pan of simmering water for up to 30 minutes. You can add a little extra hot milk to keep them creamy.
Notes
Chicken Adapted From | Osteria Cookbook
Potatoes & Onions | Attributed to Ina Garten
To Make Clarified Butter: Place butter in a heavy saucepan and melt slowly over low heat. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Using a cheesecloth lined sieve, slowly pour into a container, discarding the milky solids in the bottom of the pan. Clarified butter is so great because of its higher smoke point. This means you can cook meats and fish at a higher temperature than you can with regular butter, making it ideal for pan-frying. By clarifying the butter during a slow cooking process, you’re able to strain out the milk solids that burn quickly, as well as the water and salt. You’ll lose about 1/4 of your original butter amount during the process, and the clarified butter will keep, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for about 1 month.
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