It’s cold and raining here today. It’s been cold and raining a lot recently. When it’s cold and raining I crave a certain kind of comfort food, the kind that sticks to your ribs, that’s satisfying in almost a visceral way.
You have eaten.
You know you have eaten.
You have eaten something delicious and wholesome.
You are satisfied. Chicken and Biscuits really fits that mold. They’re life giving. Well, not really. They won’t in fact create life. They do however really taste great, and are pretty easy to prepare and cook. Essentially, this is the same base as our Chicken and Noodles or Chicken and Dumplings, but with baked fluffy biscuits on top instead of dough bits cooked into the soup – and that’s great.
Chicken and Biscuits
Course: MainCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Medium4
servings20
minutes1
hourIngredients
- Chicken Mixture
2 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 medium carrot, cleaned, peeled, and diced
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
1 qt chicken stock
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tsp kosher salt
- Biscuit Topping
2 cups AP Flour
1 tbsp corn starch
4 tbsp frozen butter
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ cup buttermilk
Directions
- Preheat a pan large enough to hold the chicken with plenty of extra space.
- Season the chicken pieces on both sides with salt and pepper, and brown skin-side down over a medium flame until lightly browned and until 2 tbsp or more of the fat has rendered out.
- Remove the chicken and set it aside.
- Add 2 tbsp of AP flour to the rendered fat, stir well, and cook the fat and flour mixture for about 2 minutes, just until the flour is well incorporated into the fat, but before it starts to brown.
- Add the onions, carrots, and celery to the fat and flour mixture, and cook, stirring frequently, just until the onion begins to soften.
- Add the chicken stock, thyme, bay leaf, and black pepper.
- Return the chicken to the pan, arranging it so that there are a few inches of space between each piece.
- Bring the pan to a simmer, and cover.
- Simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the chicken is nearly falling off the bone.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and allow to cool until handleable.
- Remove the bones and skin and discard.
- Pull or chop the chicken into bite sized pieces and return to the pan.
- Preheat your oven to 375°F
- Add the flour, corn starch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a large bowl.
- Use a box grater or microplane to grate the frozen butter into the mixture.
- With a fork, slowly blend the butter milk into the dry ingredients.
- Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and roll or pat down to 1 inch thick.
- Cut rounds with a biscuit cutter or ring mold.
- Arrange the rounds on top of the chicken mixture and immediately transfer the pan to the oven.
- Cook uncovered until the biscuits are beginning to brown on top – about 20 minutes.
Be sure to check out my other food project, The Weekly Menu!