Creamy Lemon Dijon Chicken

Background info: Looking at this ubiquitous bird on your plate, one wouldn’t think that, prior to the red meat rations during WWII, the average American only consumed 10 lbs or less of chicken annually (and typically, the whole bird would be utilized). Today, that number has climbed to over 80 lbs per capita, and yet, despite there being more than 500 existing breeds, most of the chicken eaten in the U.S. comes from only one specialized cross-breed.

Nutritionally speaking, studies have continued to find that pasture-raised birds are higher up on the food chain when it comes to health benefits, such as being higher in fat-soluble vitamins and omega-3’s, as well as providing a heftier serving of essential amino acids than their commercial counterparts.

– Price-Pottenger

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Serves 4-6

Active time: 30 minutes

Total time: 2 hours

Ingredients

3-4 pasture-raised chicken leg quarters
3 cups bone broth
1 teaspoon sea salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 sprigs fresh tarragon, chopped
3 tablespoons unsalted butter from grassfed cows
½ yellow onion, sliced
¼ cup white wine
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 lemon, cut in half; half juiced, half sliced
4 tablespoons crème fraîche

Directions

Preheat oven to 375° F.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large cast iron pan over low heat. Add onions and tarragon and cook until onions are golden brown and fragrant. Remove from heat.
Meanwhile, pat chicken completely dry. In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, lemon juice, and mustard. Rub the mixture first on the bare side, then on the skin side. Place the chicken, skin side up, on top of the onions in the cast iron pan. Arrange the sliced lemons on top of the skin.
Pour 1½ cups of bone broth into the pan, then transfer to the oven. Bake for one hour at 375° F, then increase the heat to 410° F for 10 minutes to crisp up the skin. Turn the oven off.
Once the chicken skin is a nice golden brown, remove from pan and reserve on a platter in the warm oven. Strain the mixture from the pan into a gravy separator, then return only the stock portion (not the fat) to the pan. Place the pan on the stovetop over high heat.
Add the white wine and remaining broth to the pan and simmer until a thick, caramel consistency is reached. Be sure not to leave the stove unattended because the sauce reduces quickly towards the end.
Immediately take the pan off the heat and add the remaining butter and the crème fraîche. Return the chicken to the pan, coat with the sauce, and serve.

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Chef Taylor Allen attended San Diego Culinary Institute where she acquired knowledge of traditional French cooking techniques. Taylor offers personal, in-home ancestral food preparation and real-food kitchen retrofits. She specializes in GAPS protocol as well as paleo and gluten- and casein-free meals.

Check out other Taylor Allen recipes:

Bacon Brussels Sprouts with Fresh Cranberries

New England Clam Chowder

Butternut Squash Soufflé

Raw Rose Ice Cream