Patrick Brys of Brys Estate Vineyards & Winery send us this savory recipe for Braised Chicken with Tarragon and Roasted Potatoes.

The tender chicken is slow-cooked in a rich sauce, and served with roasted potatoes and a nice glass of Brys Estate Riesling.

Servings: 4
Cook Time: 2 1/2 hours
Pair With: The Brys Estate Riesling

Ingredients:

• 8 chicken thighs with skin and bone
• 4 russet
• 4 slices thick cut applewood smoked bacon - cut into quarter inch lardons
• 8 ounces wild mushrooms - sliced in quarter inch slices
• 2 medium leeks - sliced in quarter inch slices
• 2 medium carrots - cut into quarter inch dice
• 4 cloves sliced garlic (not minced)
• 2 cups Brys Estate Riesling (or other sweeter style Riesling)
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup Cognac
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• Fresh tarragon - diced
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Fresh ground pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Slice un-peeled russet potatoes into 1/2 inch slices and then cut each slice into 4 quarters. Place potatoes on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper and toss. Set aside.

In a 12-inch oven-proof skillet, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and the bacon. Place on a burner over medium heat. Cook until lightly browned about 6-8 minutes. Once browned, transfer bacon to a plate with a slotted spoon. Remove pan from heat, reserving the fat in the pan.

Pat dry, then salt and pepper chicken on both sides. Return the pan to the burner over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot and reserved bacon fat is about to smoke, add chicken skin side down and brown without moving for about 5 minutes. Flip and brown bottom side for 5 minutes. Remove chicken and place it skin side up on the plate with the bacon.

Turn down the heat to medium. Dump off the fat in the pan into a bowl then add 1/4 cup of the fat back into the pan. Add the carrots, leeks, mushrooms, garlic slices, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper and sauté, stirring occasionally for 8 minutes. Once the vegetables have begun to soften and the mushrooms have cooked down, deglaze the pan by adding the Riesling, Cognac and chicken broth, scraping up any brown bits at the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Bring the liquid back up to a gentle simmer.

Return the chicken to the pan skin side up with the bacon and any juices that have collected on the plate. The meat should be mostly submerged but the skin should not be submerged. Put pan with the chicken in the middle rack of the oven. Place the sheet pan of potatoes in the oven on the top rack.

Bake the chicken for for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. When the chicken is done, remove skillet from the oven and transfer chicken to a serving platter and tent with foil. Leave the potatoes in the oven and turn the oven temperature up to 425 degrees. In a small bowl mix 2 tablespoons melted butter and 1 tablespoon flour. Return the skillet to the stove top over medium high heat and bring to a simmer. Stir the butter and flour mixture into the sauce. Continue to simmer until the sauce thickens and becomes rich - about 6 minutes. Taste for salt and add up to an additional 1/2 teaspoon to taste. When the sauce is done, remove potatoes from the oven.

Serve sauce over chicken sprinkled with fresh tarragon. Serve with roasted potatoes.