Guinness Braised Chicken Thighs - Under Pressure!

Yummy Comfort Food in 18 minutes!

Made these last night in my new pressure cooker – got to love that thing!  What would have taken an hour, only took 18 minutes – serve it over risotto, (which can be made in 9 minutes in this pan) and wow!  What a great comfort food meal!  I have to say, I LOVE the pressure cooker.  It is nothing like the one your grandmother used to have, that rattled and clanked on the stove.  Very quiet, very quick, and it even has a glass lid, so you can use it like a sauté pan stove top!  This recipe can also be done in a traditional Dutch Oven, bake it at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.

Ingredients:

For the Rub:

1 tbs brown sugar

½ tbs chili powder

½ tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp fresh ground pepper

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp oregano

½ tsp smoked paprika

For the Chicken:

4 skin on thighs

2 tbs light olive oil or vegetable oil

1 medium onion, cut into about 8 pieces

2 stalks celery sliced

4 carrots, cut into 4 pieces each

1 12 oz bottle Guinness or any other brown ale

½ cup chicken broth

4 cloves of garlic, smashed

Handful coarsely chopped celery leaves

1 Tsp thyme

Directions:

1.       Rinse and pat dry the thighs.  Combine dry rub ingredients in a small bowl, and mix well with a fork or whisk.  Rub on thighs, covering all sides, and let sit for 10 minutes.

Browning the Thighs

2.       In the pressure cooker, or Dutch Oven if you are going the slow…… conventional route..lol, add oil, and brown thighs over med-high heat.  Drain fat, add garlic cloves and sauté until soft – about 2 minutes

3.       If you are going the conventional route, add onions and carrots in about 2 tbs of the fat, until slightly soft – about 5 minutes

4.       Add chicken back to the pot, and add the beer, broth,  thyme.  If using a pressure cooker, add carrots and onions now as well.  Lock cover, and bring up to pressure.  Run at high pressure for 18 minutes.  Run pan under cold water to de pressurize, and open. 

5.       In conventional pan, bake in preheated oven at 350 for about 40 - 50 minutes, or until chicken is falling off the bone.

Now we are cooking.... with Pressure!

6.       If desired, the sauce can be thickened with a roux – 2 tbs of butter, melted, and 2 or 3 tbs of flour mixed in and whisked until smooth.

7.       Serve over risotto, regular rice, or egg noodles  Serves 2