Rustic Chicken With Garlic Gravy

Ingredients

2 Tbsp cooking oil

6-8 pieces skin-on/bone-in chicken thighs (could use any skin-on chicken )

Salt and freshly-ground black pepper

20-22 cloves garlic, separated and peeled (2 full heads)

2 Tbsp flour

3/4 cup dry white wine

1 cup chicken broth

1 1/4 tsp fresh thyme leaves (or about 3/4 tsp. dried thyme leaves)

2 Tbsp butter

Instructions

Heat the oven to 400° F with rack in center of oven.

In a oven-safe Dutch oven or oven-safe skillet with a lid, heat the oil over medium high heat. Dry the chicken pieces well by patting them with a paper towel. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with a bit of salt and the pepper. Cook the chicken until well browned, turning regularly, for about 8 minutes in all then remove chicken to a plate. You can remove some of the fat in the pan if you have lots, but do leave enough to cook the garlic in the next step.

Reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic, and cook, stirring regularly, until it is starting to brown, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the garlic and stir until combined. Return the chicken to the pot, cover, and bake for 15 minutes in the pre-heated 400° oven. (If you pot or skillet doesn't have a lid, you can tightly cover the top with tin-foil instead.)

Remove the pot from the oven and put it on a burner. Be careful not to touch the hot pot! Remove the chicken pieces from the pot to a clean plate. Over medium-high heat, whisk in the wine and simmer for 1 minute. Whisk in the broth, thyme and a bit more salt and pepper, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring regularly, until sauce thickens. Turn the heat off and stir in the butter. Taste sauce and add more salt and pepper, if it needs it. Add the chicken back to the pot to re-warm with the sauce. Serve spooned over mashed potatoes, rice or pasta.