Craig Claiborne’s Smothered Chicken

Absolutely delicious. Have made this at least ten times. Prefer it with bone in thighs.
I usually add a splash of white wine, a few sprigs of thyme, & 2-3 garlic cloves to the gravy.
To truly have tender chicken, braise in the gravy for an hour--needs much longer than 20-30 mins.

The most important tip I've (finally) learned is to thoroughly pat the skin dry before putting in. Best to let the chicken or meat come to room temp, maybe even put some salt on to draw moisture out. Then pat dry. Took me decades, but this works for all cooking. This recipe is great training. I love it. I agreed with the comment below about starting the pan a little hotter, then turning it down with the weight on.

I've been buying whole chickens, spatchcocked, at my local butcher shop: the right size for cast-iron preparations. I know everyone else has raved about this recipe, but my husband and I found it dated. We felt like our mothers cooked this in the '60s. The sauce is bland and full of calories. Next time I'll follow recipe up to gravy step and instead use wine and broth, some thyme and garlic, a dash of sirracha? Otherwise cooking directions are perfect: yields a nicely browned, juicy bird.

Drying thoroughly is helpful. I find that another way to help keep the chicken from sticking is not to disturb it until the skin is well browned. If you try to turn the chicken before the skin is browned the skin will stick to the pan.

I've been cooking chicken this way for 45 years, as my grandmother taught me. Never saw the recipe written down before. Grandma added a little sugar at the browning stage - caramelizes nicely. Of course, Grandma often started with the first rule of cooking chicken - catch the chicken!

That's the trouble with 1950s chicken recipes: they're designed for smaller chickens without all the retained water of today's mainstream versions. A kosher or heritage bird usually solves this problem.

There is a short (1:30) video clearly demonstrating how to spatchcock a chicken at

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/videos/techniques/how-spatchcock-chicken-video

The lady uses kitchen shears to cut the backbone out entirely. After flattening the bird, she uses two long skewers through the breasts and into the opposite thighs to help the chicken hold its flat shape during cooking.

I have Craig Claibornes book: A Feast Made For Laughter. It's a fabulous read if you can still get it I highly recommend you do do. This one did not make it into his top 100 recipes but Lemon Chicken did (very good) Chicken Cutlets Pojarski and Chicken with Noodles Parisienne. He tells a great story, the book is well worth tracking down. Kind regards Ricky

I have made this recipe three times during this difficult winter. I love, love, love it! However, I have not yet mastered the low temperature technique. I have to turn up the heat at first to make sure the pan is quite hot before putting the chicken in. Then I turn it down and "go to town!" I have even made this on a weeknight after work. Deliciously tender with great gravy. Comfort food for an uncomfortable winter!

Superb! Made a couple of minor changes:

Increased flour to 3 tablespoons.
Used full can (2 cups) chicken broth.
Added ¼ cup dry sherry.

Served with buttermilk mashed potatoes, fresh asparagus, and an excellent Beringer Chardonnay!

Just a delicious way to cook a chicken. Great with mashed or smashed potatoes and a nice green salad. Pickled beets are a nice side too.

Video! Yes, love to see Sam cook, as another writer noted. Best versions depend on good chicken and stock. But drying the bird uncovered in the ‘frig helps the skin crisp up. Watched my grandmother make dishes like this - she accompanied with dumplings. Over 60 years ago, I can see her glasses steaming up as she watched over her bird. Most likely from a farmer we knew; summers in New Hampshire, a world we evoke when we cook this way. Thank you for bringing back this kind of timeless recipe.

I followed the recipe for the most part, but used about 4 tablespoons of butter and during the last 30 minutes added about 8 quartered mushrooms that I didn't want to waste because they were getting old. Next time I'll cut the final cooking to about 25 minutes — the chicken was very slightly over done but still delicious. I served the chicken with Claiborne's Kitchen Primer recipe "The Best Way To Make Rice" that I've been making for over forty years.

After digging through the chickens at Whole Foods trying to find a 3.5 pounder (it was already 3:30 pm and I did not want to have to cook this thing for more than the time stated above), I finally discovered one of appropriate size. It turned out gorgeous. the gravy...oh man. I sprinkled a few spoonfuls of it over my salad too...and the other sides I made. The skin came out rich, crispy, buttery. Everything you'd want out of a whole chicken. Very low maintenance cooking. Will do it again :)

Maybe your not using a good pan or butter? Some margarines have water in them as does olive oil which will cause chicken to stick. You need to let the pan heat up a bit, then add butter, just as the butter starts to brown, add the chicken.