Sara's Salt and Pepper Chicken

I have been hemming and hawing about whether or not this chicken dish deserves to be posted since the recipe is so basic as to be hardly a recipe at all. In the end the deciding factor was the taste of the finished product - it is so yummy that we are fighting over the last pieces at the dinner table. Something that good deserves to be shared.

Two notes before I get down to business with the recipe. First, when I say to cook the chicken on one side without moving it (or checking it) at all for 5-7 minutes I really mean it. Leave it alone, go make a salad or something, but don't stand there moving it around the pan or you'll loose the best part of the dish - a crispy brown salty crust on the outside of the meat.

Secondly, chicken breasts won't work for this recipe. Sorry. Chicken thighs don't dry out in this cooking method and they also have a bit more flavor to begin with - an important point when so little seasoning is added.

I wasn't going to deglaze the pan sinced that seemed to be too fancy a step for such a simple dish, but I just couldn't walk away and leave all those little crispy bits on the bottom of the pan - that was where all the great flavor was hanging out. So, no big deal, I just poured some white wine in the pan, stirred and scraped for a few minutes until there was not much wine left and then poured it over the chicken to moisten it and make a very basic sauce.

This chicken makes a great filling for burritos or tacos.

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Sara's Salt and Pepper Chicken
inspired by a Mark Bittman recipe

Serves 2-4

1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
Freshly ground sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 Tablespoon oil for the pan
1 cup white wine

1. Spread chicken thighs out on a plate and liberally season with salt and pepper on both sides.

2. Heat a heavy frying pan (cast iron is my favorite) over medium-high heat until it is hot. Put oil in the pan and tilt pan to evenly distribute. When oil begins to dimple (which usually is right away) put chicken thighs in, flat side down. Don't crowd the chicken - do it in batches if you need to. Do not move the chicken or disturb it while it cooks on that side. Allow to cook for 5-7 minutes... if the pan seems too hot you might want to turn the heat down to medium. I wait to flip the chicken over until the side facing up has a visible ring of cooked meat. When the chicken is turned over the cooked side should be golden brown and cripsy in appearance. If the chicken is too dark lower the heat. The trick here is to have the pan hot enough to crisp the meat without getting so hot that the meat will burn. A heavy bottomed pan is a big help to prevent burning.

3. Cook the chicken on the second side for 4-5 minutes then remove to a wide shallow bowl to rest. When all the chicken has been cooked pour the wine into the hot pan and stir and scrape until most of the wine has been evaporated. To put it another way, reduce the wine to 1/4 of a cup or less. Turn off the heat.

4. Cut the chicken up into bite sized pieces and pour the wine reduction over the chicken, tossing to coat.

Serve immediately