Rishia Zimmern’s Chicken With Shallots

Recipe from Andrew and Rishia Zimmern

Adapted by Sam Sifton

Updated November 20, 2024

  • Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.
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Total Time
1½ hours
Rating
5(13,839)
Comments
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Here is a simple, excellent one-pot recipe for a midweek feast, full of rich flavor, with a sauce that you won't want to waste. It came to The Times in 2014 via the Twitter account of Andrew Zimmern, the chef and globe-trotting television personality who thrills to home cooking when he's not at work, which is not often. His then wife, Rishia Zimmern, adapted it from Martha Stewart, and he put it on the social network: “Brown 8 thighs, 3 C shallots. Add wine, tarragon, Dijon, sim 30 min covered. Remove lid, reduce. Add 2C cut cherry toms.” We’ve been messing around with that ever since, and thrill to its flavor. Lay in bread to accompany it, and sop up the sauce. —Sam Sifton

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

  • 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt

  • 1 tablespoon black pepper

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 12 to 15 whole medium shallots, peeled

  • 2 cups white wine

  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

  • 2 tarragon sprigs

  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)

31 grams carbs; 262 milligrams cholesterol; 790 calories; 19 grams monounsaturated fat; 9 grams polyunsaturated fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 47 grams fat; 6 grams fiber; 1231 milligrams sodium; 47 grams protein; 13 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Pat the chicken thighs very dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the flour, salt and pepper over the chicken.

  2. Step 2

    Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or skillet set over medium-high heat. When the butter foams, cook the chicken, in batches if necessary, until well browned and crisp on all sides. Set aside.

  3. Step 3

    Add the whole shallots to the pot and sauté them in the butter and chicken fat until they begin to soften and caramelize, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add the wine to deglaze the pot, stir with a large spoon, then add the mustard and tarragon, then the chicken thighs. Cover the pot, turn the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Remove the lid, and allow the sauce to reduce and thicken, 15 to 20 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    Add the cherry tomatoes to the pot, stir lightly to combine and serve immediately.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
13,839 user ratings
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Comments

Shar squier

This is a great recipe but what makes it even better is to finish it off in the oven which makes the skin crispy instead of mushy.

Amy

Regarding the shallots....is "a medium shallot" the 2 halves, or just one half that is found in a normal shallot? This makes a huge difference! I wish the recipe indicated the shallot amount in terms of ounces or cups. My grocery sells them 'whole' which is 2 halves, and some that have split in half already.

Betsy R

I call this the best chicken dish I ever made!!! I did not use so much wine, however, because it seemed like that would make it too sour for our taste. Instead I used a half cup of vermouth and the rest chicken broth. I also used skinless, boneless chicken thighs that I salted, floured and browned. Worked like a dream and it was truly "to die for!" I emailed all my sisters and my mother to alert them to this most incredible recipe!

Nemanja

Super delicious! Didn't have tarragon, so I used a pinch of ground anise, a teaspoon of chopped fresh dill and a 1/4 teaspoon of dry oregano. Used boneless skin-on chicken thighs - just reduced the cooking time a bit (not including the initial browning, it was cca 23-25mins on the stove lid-on, and max 10mins lid-off). Finished it under the broiler for 2mins for crispy skin. Halved the wine and added some water.

Wendy

I love this recipe and have made it many times. Most recently I was inspired to slice and toss in some red cabbage to cook down in all the sauce at the end and it was incredible. Served it on the side. Sadly the fam are not fans of cooked cherry tomatoes but that was a hit.

Sara

I make this recipe almost every time we have company for Shabbat, to the point where it’s become known as my ‘Shabbat chicken’. :) It’s truly delicious and utterly simplistic. I make a few crucial changes that I think improve the dish dramatically- -I don’t initially add much extra fat to the pan if the chicken is fatty enough -I add a few cloves of minced garlic and all the cherry tomatoes (halved) to the shallots toward the tail end of their browning -thyme instead of tarragon (just my preference) -and after adding the chicken back in, I transfer the whole covered pot to a very low oven (~275) for several hours, rather than leaving it stovetop for only 25 mins. The low slow oven time makes the meat fall right off the bone. I find that without this step, the meat doesn’t get that tenderness that really makes this a standout dish. It gets rave reviews EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

Sara

oops- forgot to mention that instead of 2 cups of white wine I use one cup wine and one cup chicken broth/water with a bouillon cube! The broth/bouillon adds a lot of flavor and I think it’s very important.

Zahra

i just tried to make this tonight and completely failed lol. it just tastes so acidic so I will try it this way next time. Thank you :)

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Credits

Adapted from Andrew and Rishia Zimmern, by way of Martha Stewart

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