What's for Dinner: Beer Braised BBQ Chicken

For quite some time, I have been coveting a specific piece of cookware, but have been much too cheap to buy it. Imagine my delight when it arrived in a box from my Aunt Nancy! Don was pretty sure I had completely lost it because I sat on the couch hugging it for a long time after opening the box. He drew the line when I wondered aloud if it would be wrong to put it next to my pillow when I went to bed that night. After tonight's dinner, he may want it on his nightstand!


Below is the recipe for Beer Braised BBQ Chicken. Aunt Nancy made it for dinner one night when we were in Florida and inadvertently began my Le Creuset obsession. Now, I'm not saying you HAVE to own the 5 1/2Qt. Round Oven to successfully make this dish, but.... I did make it once before and it was WAY better tonight. (I usually remember to take a picture of my version, but we were so excited to dig in that I forgot until we had already finished eating.)


Beer-Braised Barbecued Chicken from Williams Sonoma
In our version of barbecued chicken, the chicken is first braised on the stove top until tender in a flavorful combination of beer and barbecue sauce, then quickly grilled just before serving. Use only thighs, drumsticks and wings for this recipe; chicken breasts will turn out dry when braised and grilled.
4 lb. chicken thighs, drumsticks and wings
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 Tbs. canola oil
2 yellow onions, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 1/4 cups ale or lager-style beer
2 1/2 cups barbecue sauce

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm 3 Tbs. of the oil until almost smoking. Working in batches, brown the chicken on all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter.

Add the remaining 1 Tbs. oil to the pan along with the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.

Stir in the beer and barbecue sauce and bring to a boil. Add the chicken, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until tender, about 1 hour.

Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a baking sheet and let cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, bring the sauce to a simmer over medium-high heat and simmer until thickened, about 30 minutes. Pour the sauce into a shallow bowl and let cool to lukewarm, about 30 minutes.

Preheat an indoor electric grill on medium-high heat. Brush the chicken on both sides with some of the sauce. Grill the chicken, turning once and brushing occasionally with more sauce, until nicely grill-marked, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a platter and brush with more sauce.
Serves 4.