PAN-SEARED LEMON CHICKEN

Pan-Seared Lemon Chicken image

Number Of Ingredients 10

1 3 1/2 lb chicken, cut into 8 pieces
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup chicken stock
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons italian parsley
1 salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper
Heat the oil and butter in the saute pan over medium heat
Place the chicken, skin side down, in the pan and brown. About 5 minutes. Turn over and brown again on the other side. Remove from the pan and reserve.
Add the onion and sweat over medium heat until translucent, about 5 minutes.
Return the chicken pieces to the pan and add chicken stock, lemon zest and thyme. Bring to a boil, lower heat to simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes.
Remove the chicken breast pieces and place on a serving platter tented with foil. Cover and continue cooking an additional 15 minutes.
Remove the remaining pieces of the chicken and place them on the serving platter with the breast meat. Discard the thyme sprigs.
Return the cooking liquid to a boil. Stir the egg yolks and lemon juice together with a fork in a separate bowl. Whisking constantly, add several tablespoons of the hot cooking liquid to the egg yolks. This is called tempering which helps to minimize the risk of the yolks scrambling. Stir the warmed egg yolk mixture into the remaining cooking liquid. Do not boil the sauce at this point. Check for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Mix in chopped parsley and spoon over chicken pieces. Serve immediately.
The chicken can be prepared thru step 7 up to 2 days in advance. Allow the chicken and cooking liquid to cool completely and store together in the refrigerator. The chicken will taste even better the second day. Finish as described above.