Braised to Perfection: Southern Style Chicken with Greens

 

We've got a quickie for you today, but that doesn't mean it's not delicious. We found this recipe for a "southern style" chicken in an older issue of Saveur. It's not "southern style" like the most delicious invention in recent memory, McDonald's Southern Style Chicken Sandwich. Rather, it's in the style of the south, a la Charleston. If you've never had a chance to have some really good authentic southern American cuisine... get on it quickly. It's delicious. Certainly not good for you from a nutritional perspective, but what delicious food is?

Making the Dish
Start off by seasoning your chicken. We opted for chicken legs because they are, in our opinion, much tastier than chicken breast. If you decide to go with breast, this will still work, but try to get it on the bone to give it some more flavor. The seasoning is a simple mix of paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Rub that all into the chicken and let it rest for a bit.

Seasoning the chicken legs with the paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper

In a medium large saucepan, heat up some oil until it is quite hot. Then, drop the chicken in skin side up and sear it until it gets nice and crispy.

Searing the chicken legs

Turn over and sear the other side, then remove from the chicken from the oil and let it drain on a paper towel.

Crispy chicken

In the same sauce pan, add in some sliced onion and green bell pepper, scraping up the chicken bits as you go. You can season with a touch of salt and pepper, and cook over high heat until the veggies begin to soften.

Sautéing the sliced veggies

As their cooking, add in a few tablespoons of tomato paste and stir to incorporate. Lastly, add in some chicken stock and stir together to combine.

Adding in the tomato paste

Place the chicken in a baking dish and pour in the broth and veggies, surrounding the chicken legs. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and when it's ready, add the baking dish to the oven.

Smothering the chicken in the braising liquid and veggies

Cook for about 45 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

After about an hour of cooking, the chicken is delicious. 

While the chicken is cooking, get going on the greens. We used collard greens and some cabbage, a nice combination. Slice everything up into small to medium sized shreds, and add them to a pot with olive oil and garlic.

Sliced greens

Cook them down until they've wilted a bit. Then season with salt and pepper and add in some chicken broth. Braise the greens in the chicken broth until they're luxuriously soft.

Nice, soft, collard greens and cabbage

The Result
When the chicken and greens have finished their braising, remove the chicken from the baking dish and top with some of the broth and veggies. Grab the greens and let them drip off the braising liquid, and serve them on the side.

We're sure you'll enjoy it. The veggies, long cooked, are flavorful, soft and delicious, and a perfect compliment from the seasoned and braised chicken. Roasting a chicken like this is a great, easy way to make things taste great, and one of our go-to techniques in the fall.

Have a roasted chicken recipe we should make on the blog? Let us know about it in the comments!

Click through for the full ingredient list

Southern Style Chicken with Braised Greens

Written by: Herbie Likes Spaghetti, based on a recipe from Saveur

Easy but luxuriously delicious braised chicken dish

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 hour
Total time: 1 hour 15 min

(Serves: 2)

2 legs chicken
1/4 head cabbage
1 bunch collard greens
2 cups chicken broth
1 sliced onion
1 sliced green pepper
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp undefined
cayenne pepper undefined
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper