Pan-Roasted Chicken in Cream Sauce

I have a quibble with recipes that call for browning of the chicken then cooking the chicken in liquid, in a covered pot on the stove. The crispy, delicious chicken skin becomes soft-ish and less appealing. Am I cooking it wrong? Does anybody have tips about how to avoid this phenomenon? I prefer to put chicken in dish, uncovered, in oven at 450 for about 15 minutes, then lower to 375 until cooked (another half hour plus)... Please advise

Sounds great, but I have a quibble. Do you mean a dry Madeira, such as Sercial, Verdelho, or rainwater, or a sweet one such as Bual or Malvasia? I assume you mean a dry one, but using a Bual would not be that different from using Marsala. I have a similar quibble when one says "sherry".

Agree with reviewer who dislikes the flabby skin on chicken that has been browned and then cooked in liquid covered. Yuck! Using the technique for Roasted Chicken Provencal - Sifton- avoids this and results in crispy skin yet the liquid in the pan avoids the dry meat effect of an all dry technique . Try it!

Crisp skin is wonderful. If you cook uncovered, then keep some extra stock warm and replenish the level in the pan once or twice as needed to maintain the moisture level without covering the pieces and this will avoid drying out the chicken. You are going to be reducing the sauce in the next step, so no harm done. Need a larger pan than one in picture. If you want the best crispy skin, cut chicken, salt and pepper, dry herbs, then on a rack in the fridge uncovered for 48 hrs (dry brining)

This is the grown-up new century version of my childhood fav: a cup up whole chicken baked with sauce of cream of mushroom soup plus an added can of mushrooms, with a cup of sour cream and a cup of dry sherry, served with white rice. Oh so splendid, for all my birthday dinners. In the 1960s and early 70s.

Delicious, and easier than it looks at first. Tip for keeping skin crispy: 1. After you turn the chicken (I used bone-in thighs) cook it longer on the non-skin side (there's no reason to just "kiss it with heat!). 2. When you add the chicken broth, add the chicken back in, but don't cover it! Just do the entire reduction process with the chicken in the pan. I used Marsala cooking wine, a cup of cream, no yogurt or creme fraiche. It was awesome, now on our Favorites list.

This was absolutely fantastic. The sauce was beyond divine. I was out of chicken so I used a ham hock and.....Just kidding! Followed the recipe exactly and adored the results.

You really got me with the "ham hock" joke. I actually shouted aloud...."Whaaaat!!!!!!" Then, laughed. Thank you.

I'd go with the Creme Fraiche, rather the the Greek Yoghurt. GY is best eaten from the container with the refrig door open, but even the full fat version seems grainy to me when cooked.

When a recipe states Madeira, it presumes a dry or dryish wine. Same with sherry. Dry or medium. It’s there for flavour not sweetness. Summer or winter savory? There is so little in the recipe I doubt that it would make much difference. I would use summer savory. But take your choice.

Would work just as well with rabbit. I'm not sure that 45 minutes is enough to cook all that chicken, I'd probably go an hour especially with bone-in pieces. Fresh chopped tarragon at the end is essential, served over fresh papardelle. Divine!

Apparently, (and this is just from my observations online as well as some personal experience) acid, lack of fat, and too much heat upfront is what causes curdling. I've noticed this when making Holandaise when I've added too much lemon too soon. So, in this case, make sure you use heavy cream as stated, and not to boil the sauce and avoid addition of lemon or other acid.

I hope you get an answer, and I hope someone addressed the sherry question too. Madeira keeps better than sherry so I always use it in recipes that call for sherry, which RARELY specify what kind of sherry.

What is savory exactly? Is it an herb?

Yes, it is an herb, or rather two. Summer savory, the more common variety, is an annual. Winter savory is a perennial. They are pretty much interchangeable and can be used with or instead of thyme and oregano. Note, however, that some people find the taste and smell objectionable, reminiscent of kerosine.