Comfort food to the hilt. Family food. Chicken in lemon cream sauce is just one of those dishes that spells home cooking from the first to the last spoonful. Most times, I make more sauce than is normally required just so we can spoon it over our rice or mop it up with bread.
But exercise a bit more care in cooking this one-pan dish and it makes a visually catchy party food too. Use uniformly-sized chicken thighs, arrange them so that they fill up the pan but still leave space for sauce to seep between them then garnish to give the dish some panache.
One-pan Chicken in Lemon Cream Sauce
A sure way to brighten up gloomy nights with its silky sauce and refreshing citrusy aroma, this one-pan chicken in lemon cream sauce is cooked with tarragon and garnished with lemon pepper seasoning.
Ingredients
Chicken and marinade
- 6 large chicken thighs skin on
- 1 teaspoon salt (see notes after the recipe)
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon onion powder
To cook the chicken
- ¼ cup salted butter
- ½ cup chicken bone broth
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 to 3 sprigs tarragon
To complete the dish
- juice of ½ lemon (you may use more)
- 1 lemon cut into wedges
- 1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
Instructions
Marinate the chicken thighs
- Wipe the chicken thighs with paper towels to remove surface moisture and dump into a mixing bowl.
- Whisk together the salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.
- Add the mixed seasonings to the chicken and toss thoroughly to distribute.
- Transfer the seasoned chicken thighs into a covered container and keep in the fridge overnight.
Cook the chicken
- Melt the butter in a heavy skillet or frying pan and heat until frothy.
- With the heat set to medium, lay the chicken thighs in the hot butter, skin side down, and leave to brown the skins without disturbing them.
- Flip the chicken thighs over to brown the opposite sides.
- Flip the chicken thigh over again so that the browned skins are on top (they are three-quarters done by this time).
- Set the heat to low.
- Whisk together the chicken broth and cream, and pour slowly into the pan with the chicken.
- Throw in the tarragon sprigs.
- Simmer the chicken, uncovered to prevent the cream from curdling, until the sauce is reduced by half by which time the chicken should be fully cooked.
- Turn off the heat and leave to cool for five minutes.
Complete the dish
- Off the heat, drizzle in the lemon juice.
- Garnish with lemon wedges and sprinkle lemon pepper seasoning over each piece of chicken.
Notes
The chicken thighs are salted three times in this dish. First, during marinating. Second, during browning (salted butter!) and, finally, during braising (the chicken broth is well seasoned).
If you’re substituing unsalted butter and unseasoned broth, you will have to add salt during braising.
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