Just Add Beer Chicken

Is there anything better than the holiday season, a fire blazing on Netflix, Nat King Cole playing on Spotify and the smell of a yummy dish simmering in the kitchen? Okay, maybe a real fire would be better.

Nevertheless, I’ve broken out the Christmas PJ’s and the cutest kitchen towels you’ve ever seen. It’s the most wonderful time of the year, after all!

I found this recipe for “JUST ADD BEER CHICKEN” many years ago in Glamour magazine, and it quickly became my all time favorite chicken dish. I swear I could eat this every single day! It’s my go-to dish when I really want to impress.

I didn’t have all of the ingredients this time around, so I improvised, and I’m so glad I did. Using chicken breast meat instead of the chicken thighs the recipe called for was better, to me, but you try and see what you think.

If you do choose to use chicken thighs, make sure you crisp them on each side well before adding them to the stew so the skin isn’t soggy. Better yet, remove the skin before cooking if you’re worried about the dish being too soggy or greasy.

I’ve posted a photo of the original recipe I pulled from the magazine (below), but follow along with this read for creative ways to change change it up.

Despite my changes to this recipe, it was still equally divine!

First, I melted 4 tbsp of Salted Butter in a large non-stick copper pot on medium/high heat, adding 8 large chicken fingers I had thawed the night before. I sprinkled them with salt and pepper and browned them on each side, about five minutes on each side, then removed them from the pan.

Hint: never use unsalted butter, even when a recipe calls for it … salted is always better! That’s my personal rule, especially when baking.

While the butter in the pan is still hot, add to it 1/2 cup chopped onion, 1 tbsp garlic powder and 4 slices of chopped bacon. Cook until the bacon and onions are browned and caramelized.

Add chicken back to the pan, along with 5 bay leaves, 12-16 oz. beer (I used light lime flavored beer because that’s all I had), 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar and 1/2 cup vegetable broth (I had to use canned chicken broth because I was out of veggie broth).

The recipe also says to add 4 large potatoes and 1 lb. carrots to the pot…

However, I was out of carrots, so I added in some Parmesan Herb Cauliflower Rice I had in the freezer. I steamed the bag in the microwave for 6 minutes before adding it to the stew. I think it really added some flavor this stew needed. I’ll be doing this substitute again!

The final step would’ve normally been to add the potatoes to the stew, but I’m not adding my potatoes to the stew this time.

The final step is to bring the stew to a boil for ten minutes, then reduce the heat to medium/low and simmer for one additional hour with the lid on the pot.

What to do about the potatoes? All I had were the small potatoes, and I knew from experience that the skins didn’t do well in stews, and I was too lazy to try and peel them. So, I tossed the with some olive oil, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning and baked them in the oven with some sliced onion for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

I poured the stew over the potatoes when I was ready to serve dinner. You can even add a bit of chopped dried or fresh parsley to add some color before serving, if you wish.

Holiday Hint: For the holidays, add a bit of sliced red bell peppers to the potatoes and onions while they’re cooking in the oven. The peppers will add a nice flavor compliment, as well as a Christmas color contrast with the parsley.

You can see my final bowl includes my potatoes and the stew, and it is a big brown in color, so if I were fixing this for the holidays, I would definitely roast the red peppers and add parsley for a pop of color. I’ve included a small photo so you can see what that might look like.

I’m looking forward to sopping it all up with some crusty bread. I think a good sour dough or french baguette goes perfect with this dish.

Bon Appetit!

Oh, and my little Christmas treat for you … if you’re gluten free, or if you’re not, this Monster Cookie Mix (pictured with me in my PJ’s) mixed with Cashew Butter, or any kind of Nut Butter, will make for the best Christmas cookies you’ve ever tasted! I order mine from Amazon because the mix isn’t available in my local stores.

Merry Christmas, from my kitchen to yours!