One-Pot Vinegar Chicken with Onions and Roasted Mushrooms
Raise your hand if you’re just the teensiest bit worn out by the holiday weekend.
Ok, you can put your hands down now—don’t mean to wear you out any more than you already are!
Instead, relax those shoulders and do a neck roll or two and get ready for a new, easy, one-pot answer to the age old dilemma of how to make ordinary chicken seem new and fun without expending all your energy or brainpower..
Here it is folks—One-Pot Vinegar Chicken with Onions and Roasted Mushrooms. Happy Tuesday!
Before we go on, did you have a fun and delicious holiday? Ours was pretty great except for the excruciating stomach ache I got after our Seder (probably TMI, but I’m much better now, thank you very much.) In fact, I’m well enough now to indulge in a few of those mini-Cadbury easter eggs—you know, the ones with the crunchy shells—as I sit here and write this. I can’t resist ‘em!
But enough about chocolate, we’re talking chicken today and I guarantee that this one’s a keeper. It’s so easy and flavorful with tender chicken, almost caramelized red onions and plenty of mushrooms, all in a simple vinegary sauce that just begs to be sopped up by some sort of starch, like rice or mashed potatoes.
After browning the chicken and transferring it to a plate, you simply cook the onions in the same pot, add a little vinegar and water and return the chicken to it, where everything cooks down together.
That is everything but the mushrooms, which roast in the oven and get sprinkled on at the end. Ok, I told a little fib. it’s almost a one-pot meal. But don’t let that discourage you from making this. The mushrooms require virtually no prep and the oven does most of the work. And you could even leave them out if you don’t have any on hand or happen to suffer from mycophobia (fear of mushrooms, yup, it’s a thing.) But if mushrooms are your friend, I urge you to go the extra mile and roast a few to toss on at the end. They add such a nice flavor and texture to the dish.
Plus, this dish tastes great on the day you make it and even better on day two or three, which makes it a wonderful make-ahead meal. Another check in the plus column!
And now, ‘cause we’re all tired, I’ll bring this post to a close and try to make it an earlyish night. Happy dreams, my friends.
ONE-POT VINEGAR CHICKEN WITH ONIONS AND ROASTED MUSHROOMS
Makes 5-6 servings
Prep Time: About one hour but most of this is hands-free
Ingredients
For the Chicken
3 1/2-4 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces (I used chicken breasts which were rather large so I cut them in half)
Kosher salt and black pepper for seasoning
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 large red onions, peeled and cut into small wedges
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1 cup water
For the Mushrooms
2 pounds mushrooms, any kind, cleaned, trimmed and halved or quartered if large
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper
The Recipe
1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-weight pot over medium-high heat. In batches, add the chicken, skin-side down and cook for 8-10 minutes, not moving the pieces until the skin is golden brown and comes away easily from the bottom of the pot. Then allow the chicken to brown on the other side for a few minutes. Transfer to a plate and repeat the process with the remaining chicken. When all the chicken is browned, transfer to a plate.
2. Add the onions to the pot as well as a pinch of salt and pepper. Let them cook for 7-8 minutes without moving them around so that they have a chance to brown. Then give them a good stir and add the vinegar and water and scrape off any browned bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pot. Bring the liquid to a simmer and return the chicken to the pot, skin-side up. It’s ok if the pieces aren’t entirely submerged. Cover the pot and lower the heat to medium so that the mixture cooks at a gentle simmer for about 30 minutes or so, until the chicken is very tender.
3. While the chicken is cooking, roast the mushrooms. Preheat oven to 450ºF. Place the mushrooms on a rimmed baking sheet and toss them with the olive oil and a pinch or two of salt and pepper. Spread them out onto an even layer and roast for about 30 minutes, turning them a couple of times during the process until the mushrooms are browned and crispy.
4. When chicken is done, scatter the mushrooms on top of it and serve with some sort of starchy side, like mashed potatoes or rice, to sop up all the sauce. At this point the mushrooms will be crunchy. If you make the dish ahead and reheat, they’ll soften up but still be really delish.
Enjoy!
Note: Recipe adapted from Alison Roman via The New York Times. I tinkered a lot with this—feel free to make it your own.
