Brisket-Braised Chicken

3.7
(7)
7 Reviews

Beef brisket is the most common latke pairing during the Jewish Festival of Lights. But for those looking to eat less red meat, or who simply want to switch up their holiday main-dish game, try braising chicken in a traditional brisket sauce. Heaped with sliced onions and flavored with red wine, paprika, and a touch of honey, the chicken is falling-off-the-bone tender with a deeply craveable sweet-savory sauce. And since chicken cooks significantly faster than a side of brisket, Hanukkah dinner doesn't take all day to prepare.

By
Leah Koenig
Leah Koenig

New York-based food writer and recipe developer Leah Koenig is the author of six highly regarded cookbooks, including The Jewish Cookbook (2019) and Modern Jewish Cooking. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Food52, Epicurious, The Kitchen, Saveur, Tablet, TASTE, and others.

Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines
Updated on July 26, 2023
Tested by
Food & Wine Test Kitchen
Tested by Food & Wine Test Kitchen
Recipes published by Food & Wine are rigorously tested by the culinary professionals at the Dotdash Meredith Food Studios in order to empower home cooks to enjoy being in the kitchen and preparing meals they will love. Our expert culinary team tests and retests each recipe using equipment and ingredients found in home kitchens to ensure that every recipe is delicious and works for cooks at home every single time.
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Brisket Braised Chicken
Photo: Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Dickey / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis
Active Time:
50 mins
Total Time:
2 hrs
Yield:
4 to 6
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided

  • 3 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and drumsticks, trimmed and patted dry

  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

  • 2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced

  • 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste

  • 2 teaspoons Hungarian sweet paprika

  • 1 teaspoon onion powder

  • 1/2 cup (4 ounce) dry red wine

  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

  • 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes

  • 1 cup chicken broth

  • 1/4 cup honey

  • 2 fresh or dried bay leaves

Directions

  1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large Dutch oven over medium until shimmering. Sprinkle chicken with 1 tablespoon salt and pepper. Working in 3 batches, arrange chicken pieces, skin sides down, in Dutch oven; cook until browned on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Set aside. Wipe pan clean; add remaining 2 tablespoons oil.

  2. Add onions and garlic to Dutch oven; cook over medium, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, paprika, and onion powder; cook 30 seconds. Add wine and vinegar; cook, stirring constantly and scraping up browned bits, until mixture thickens, about 1 minute.

  3. Stir in tomatoes, broth, honey, bay leaves, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Nestle chicken into mixture; bring to a boil over medium-high. Cover and reduce heat to low; simmer until chicken easily pulls away from the bone, about 50 minutes, pushing chicken down into mixture to partially submerge after 20 minutes.

  4. Uncover Dutch oven; increase heat to medium-low. Simmer, gently stirring occasionally, until liquid has slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Transfer chicken to plates; spoon sauce over chicken.

Make Ahead

Chicken can be braised up to 2 days ahead and stored in an airtight container in refrigerator.

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