Lager-Simmered Chicken Thighs

Used by permission from Cooking with Cocktails: 100 Spirited Recipes, Countryman Press, 2017

Ingredients

3 slices thick-cut bacon chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
4 chicken thighs bone in and skin on
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion chopped
2 large carrots halved lengthwise and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
2 garlic cloves thinly sliced
8 ounces button mushrooms wiped clean and quartered
2 cups lager beer low-hop beer works best
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Heat a large frying pan over medium-heat.
2. Add the chopped bacon and cook until crispy, 12 to 15 minutes. ?Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
3. Season the chicken amply with salt and pepper. Arrange, skin side down, in the pan of bacon fat and cook until browned and crispy. Flip to brown the bottom and then remove from the pan and set aside with the bacon. Discard all but 4 tablespoons of the fat.
4. Add the onion and carrots to the pan and sauté until so . Add the garlic, stirring for about a minute, and then the mushrooms. Stir and continue to cook until the mushrooms begin to brown just slightly.
5. Raise the heat to high and pour in the beer. Sprinkle with the nutmeg.
6. When the mixture comes to a medium boil, put all the chicken (skin side up, to keep it crispy) and about three-quarters of the bacon back into the pan, reserving the rest of the bacon to nish the dish. ?
7. Lower the heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has reduced, about 45 minutes.
8. Remove the chicken from the pan.
9. Add the cream, stirring constantly until warm, and boil until the ?sauce is somewhat thickened.
10. Return the chicken to the sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary.
11. Add the parsley, sprinkle with the reserved bacon, and serve.

Notes

Tipsy Tip
Swap out the lager here for a darker beer as the weather turns from hot to cool. Use whatever beer speaks to the season, to keep it fresh and inspired.