This mouthwatering One Pot recipe for Chicken with Sherry Mushrooms Sauce will make you look like a star in the kitchen!
Served with simple rice pilaf or mashed potatoes for a complete homecooked meal.
Juicy chicken thighs and pancetta in a silky mushroom sauce with onions, garlic, and herbs – this is a dinner everyone will rave about!
Why This Recipe Works
- Using chicken thighs on the bone adds flavor you don’t get with boneless chicken.
- Using pancetta in a recipe is an amazing flavor booster.
- Using sherry instead of wine adds a richness to the sauce that can’t be beat.
Chicken Thigh Recipes
When cooking chicken, I almost always cook with chicken thighs. With all of the chicken thigh recipes on this site, this one is one of my favorites!
Using bone-in chicken thighs means a lot of extra flavor which makes the sauce just phenomenal!
Pre-seasoning Chicken Before Cooking
Pre-seasoning chicken before cooking is the best way to add extra flavor to the meat. But just sprinkling a bit of salt over it right before cooking it will only season the surface. Seasoning the chicken with salt far in advance will draw the salt into the meat, resulting in very tasty chicken.
Not only that, but the salt changes the cellular makeup of the chicken meat as it draws and holds more moisture. So the chicken Will not only be tastier, but it will be a lot juicier, too.
For the best results, season the chicken when you get it home from the market and re-warp it before refrigerating.
For Best Results
To thicken the sauce and help dry out the skin, coat each thigh in flour and brown in small batches depending on the size of your pan to avoid over-crowding.
Unless using a really large pan, don’t be tempted to throw all the thighs in the pan! You will end up with steamed skin instead of brown.
The chicken thighs need space between them which will brown your chicken skin to a beautiful golden brown color and locking in moisture, as well as flavor!
Step By Step Instructions
Dry the thighs by patting with paper towels and dredge it in the flour to coat.
In a large, ovenproof pan brown the floured chicken in batches on each side.
Remove the browned thighs, set aside and continue with the rest until all the chicken is browned, and set aside.
Drain any excess fat from the pan and add the chopped pancetta and cook until crispy.
Reduce heat to medium-high. Add the chopped onion and cook until soft, but not brown. Add the garlic and cook another minute.
Add the mushrooms and saute until soft.
Add the sherry and the herbs. Raise the heat to high, bring to boil, scraping the bottom of the skillet to mix the brown bits into the liquid. Cook another two minutes to cook down the alcohol.
Add chicken stock and return chicken to the pan, skin side up. Bake for 35 minutes.
Remove the chicken, thicken the sauce with a roux and serve hot.
Erren’s Top Tips
- When browning the chicken don’t overcrowd the pan. Overcrowding the pan will cause the chicken to steam instead of brown.
- Don’t have sherry? Try replacing it with white wine or vermouth.
- Omitting alcohol from the recipe – Sherry adds a delicious complexity this sauce, but if you don’t cook with alcohol, to deepen the flavor, try breaking up a bouillon cube and a tablespoon of lemon juice at the end for extra flavor.
The Perfect Pairings
- Serve Over or alongside: Rice Pilaf
- Side: Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Did you make this?
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Let’s Make Chicken with Sherry Mushrooms Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ cup flour seasoned with salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 5 chicken thighs bone-in with skin
- 6 ounces pancetta chopped
- 1 large onion chopped (about 1 cup)
- 5 garlic cloves thin sliced or chopped
- 1 lbs cremini mushrooms or Baby Bella/Chestnut mushrooms
- 1½ cups sherry
- 1½ cup chicken stock
- fresh parsley a good handful, chopped
- Salt and Pepper
- 3 tbsp butter softened
- ¼ cup flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.Dry the chicken by patting with paper towels and if you haven’t Pre-seasoned, sprinkle both sides liberally with salt and pepper.
- Place the flour in a shallow bowl and dredge the chicken in the flour to coat.
- In a large, ovenproof pan (12-inches will do), heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the floured chicken in three batches (don’t overcrowd the pan) and brown lightly for 3 to 5 minutes on each side.
- Remove the browned thighs, set aside and continue with the rest until all the chicken is browned and set aside.
- Drain any excess fat from the pan and add the chopped pancetta and cook until crispy.
- If necessary, remove from the pan, set aside and drain the excess fat (without wiping the pan). Reduce heat to medium-high. Add the bacon back to the pan along with chopped onion and cook until soft, but not brown.
- Add the garlic and cook another minute.
- Add the mushrooms and saute until soft.
- Add the sherry. Raise the heat to high, bring to boil, scraping the bottom of the skillet to mix the brown bits into the liquid. Cook another 2 minutes to cook down the alcohol.
- Add chicken stock and parsley. Return chicken to the skillet, skin side up. Bake for 35 minutes (or until an instant-read thermometer is about 165 degrees), the chicken should be very tender.
- Remove the chicken and set aside. With a fork, mash together the butter and 3 tablespoons of flour and add it to the sauce.
- Return to the stove, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat until the sauce is thickened slightly.
- Taste for seasoning and season to taste, put the chicken back in the sauce, and serve hot.
Tips + Notes
- When browning the chicken don’t overcrowd the pan. Overcrowding the pan will cause the chicken to steam instead of brown.
- Don’t have sherry? Try replacing it with white wine or vermouth.
- Omitting alcohol from the recipe – Sherry adds a delicious complexity this sauce, but if you don’t cook with alcohol, to deepen the flavor, try breaking up a bouillon cube and a tablespoon of lemon juice at the end for extra flavor.
Heather Soper says
I Love your recipes!! Is it a dry Sherry or sweet for this?
I bought dry sherry by mistake !
Erren Hart says
Hi Heather, I like dry sherry, but I think it’s a matter of preference which is why I don’t specify.
Krisine Kaye says
This recipe is *****DELICIOUS!!! Since it doesn’t contain cream, can it be frozen?
Erren Hart says
Sure!