Braised Chicken with Muscadine Grapes & Sherry
I’m a major fan of muscadine grapes! Ever since meeting with Devon from OTL Farms for From the Source, I find myself anticipating muscadine season with a ton of excitement!
The seasonal transition from summer to fall creates space for this warming chicken dish, making use of delicious, native muscadine grapes of the Southeast. For this recipe, we’re using chicken leg quarters – the thigh and the leg. This dark meat holds up well to braising, which allows enough time for the grapes to melt into a divine sauce. You might expect the sauce to finish sticky-sweet for this dish, but it’s velvety and savory. The marriage of garlic, onion, sherry wine and grapes is very balancing. Wilting a little bit of spinach into the pan sauce is a great excuse to sop up every drop! I recommend a bit of crusty bread alongside this dish. Pick up a baguette or round loaf from your favorite local bakery, or if you’re local to Asheville, stop by La Bodega!
The seasonal transition from summer to fall creates space for this warming chicken dish, making use of delicious, native muscadine grapes of the Southeast. For this recipe, we’re using chicken leg quarters – the thigh and the leg. This dark meat holds up well to braising, which allows enough time for the grapes to melt into a divine sauce. You might expect the sauce to finish sticky-sweet for this dish, but it’s velvety and savory. The marriage of garlic, onion, sherry wine and grapes is very balancing. Wilting a little bit of spinach into the pan sauce is a great excuse to sop up every drop! I recommend a bit of crusty bread alongside this dish. Pick up a baguette or round loaf from your favorite local bakery, or if you’re local to Asheville, stop by La Bodega!
Braised Chicken with Muscadine Grapes & Sherry
A seasonal transition from summer to fall creates space for this warming chicken dish, making use of delicious, native muscadine grapes of the Southeast.
Equipment
- 1 dutch oven or braising dish oven-safe, with a lid
Ingredients
- 4 pounds chicken leg quarters about 2
- 4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil such as grapeseed or avocado
- 1 red onion sliced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pint muscadine grapes halved, seeded
- ¼ cup sherry wine
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 10 ounces fresh spinach
Instructions
- Season the chicken with 4 teaspoons salt and 2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper at least 2 hours before cooking, or ideally overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Heat a large, dutch oven or a braiser with a lid over medium-high heat and drizzle in the neutral oil. When the oil is hot, brown the chicken, skin side down. When the skin is brown and crispy remove it from the pan and set aside.
- Turn the heat down to medium-low. Sweat the onions and garlic until translucent. Add the muscadines, cooking them for an additional 3 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the sherry, allowing it to reduce by half, scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Pour in chicken stock. Nestle the chicken quarters back into the pot, skin side up. Cover and place in the oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the lid and cook for an additional hour until tender. Remove the chicken from the pan with tongs, and place onto a serving dish.
- Place the pan back on the stove over low heat and reduce the remaining sauce until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add in the spinach and turn off heat. Stir until the spinach begins to wilt. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.
