This Might Be The Most Underrated Chicken Recipe In America

Marry Me Chicken took over the internet for a reason. The creamy pan sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, perfectly cooked chicken. It's the kind of meal people supposedly propose over, but I think a few real chef techniques can make it even better. And to make sure I get it right, I'm bringing in the boss, and maybe the kid, to see if it's actually worth marrying for. But first, let's get started on the chicken. Sound good? Let's cook. I've got four boneless skinless chicken breasts that all range in that 10 to 12 ounce range. What I'm going to do is gently pound these out a bit between a sheet of parchment paper, and of course you can do this with plastic wrap or even just one of those plastic zip bags, whatever works best for you. The goal here is to tenderize them and get them to the same thickness consistency. This will help for more even cooking. And when I hit the chicken with the flat end of the mallet, I also push out once I connect with it to spread it out instead of sort of pounding one area. This will help get it to the right size and thickness. Once they're all tenderized, I'm just going to briefly set them to the side on a plate. Next, for a quick breading, I like to use cake tins for some reason, but any wide shallow bowl will work. Add in one half cup of all-purpose flour, and then I'm going to season it up with salt and pepper. I use Diamond Crystal Kosher and I grind my own peppercorns, just an FYI here. Okay, time to bread up the chicken, but first I'm going to pat it dry on all sides with some paper towels. This will help the flour stick better and more evenly. And remember, moisture is always the enemy of a good sear. Then I'm going to give the chicken a good season of salt and pepper on both sides. At this stage, we want to dredge the seasoned up chicken, so add it to the flour one breast at a time, and give the pan a little shimmy shake. I'm not looking to press the chicken into the flour, I just want a light coating. This will help give it a nice brown crust, as well as help a bit getting our sauce to that perfect consistency. Little techniques like this always make meals worth remembering. Be sure to shake off as much excess flour as possible. Again, not looking to cake this on. And repeat the process until all the chicken has been floured up, and then set them to the side over a rack, and I'm going to let them sit for about 10 minutes. This will help the coating stick and create a more even crust. And I know I say this all the time, but so much about being a cook is being a good steward of your time. And I get it, it's a super cheesy line, but it's true. I could never imagine back in my restaurant days if I was like, hey chef, I'm just going to sit here for 10 minutes while this sets. He'd be like, dude, you've got 10 minutes, go knock out some prep. And so that's exactly what we're going to do. We've got a few minutes, so let's miss out a few things. I'm going to peel and small dice one shallot, which should get you right at a quarter cup or so. And it's totally fine if it's a bit more or a bit less. This recipe is very forgiving. You've got this, my friends. Next, I'm going to smash and finely mince six garlic cloves. And hey, if you just love garlic, add a few more. If you like it, but don't love it, then back off a few cloves. No problem. Then I want to julienne some sun-dried tomatoes, and I usually stack them four or five high, then slice them. You'll need right around a heaping half cup. And I definitely prefer the dried pack over the sun-drieds that sit in oil. I just love the texture and flavors of these, but feel free to use what you have. And if you've never had one before, I highly recommend trying a little piece. You'll be just as blown away as I was when I was 13 and had it for the first time when I was a dishwasher at a restaurant. So, so good. Okay, let's cook. Take the chicken back over to the cooktop, and in a large stainless steel or even carbon steel or cast iron skillet, add in about three tablespoons of olive oil. Of course, any neutral flavor oil will work here. Next, turn the heat up to medium to medium-high-ish, and heat up that oil for about 60 to 90 seconds. And once it starts to barely, and I mean barely, smoke, let's add in the chicken. The goal is to give them a little space between each other so that they sear and not steam. And I put them in the pan a little bit weird. They're all kind of going the same way, so I had to reconfigure to give them some more space in the pan. I'm not so good at Tetris. Okay, let them sit untouched for three to four minutes. This will be plenty of time to get them to that beautiful golden brown. Take a peek to see for yourself, and yes, this is what you want. You can pull this off, I promise. Flip over the chicken, and let's turn the heat down a bit to medium, and I'm gonna cook them for six to seven minutes, or until they're like 90 to 95 percent done. Don't forget about carryover cooking as they sit. I want perfectly cooked, tender, juicy chicken breasts, not overdone chewy chicken. But hey, while we wait, two quick things to miss out. I'm gonna finally grate one cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano, and yes, I do this on parchment because it makes it easy for transporting and cleanup. Parchment as much as I can. Sorry, the restaurant industry ruined me. Okay, next I've got eight fresh thyme sprigs that I'm gonna finely mince, and yes, the stems are good to use as long as they're tender. At this point, all the prep is done, so let's go have a look at the chicken. Perfectly browned up on both sides. Love it. I'm gonna set the chicken to the side on a plate, and then in the skillet, it needs a bit more fat since the chicken soaked it up. So add in two tablespoons of unsalted butter, and then let's add in our shallots. Just going to give it a gentle season of salt, and the goal here is to get them lightly browned up. So saute them for a good two to three minutes, nothing more. If you need to turn the heat down a little bit, no problem. Remember, you are the one that's in control. Now while this recipe calls for crushed red pepper flakes, I'd like to do a small upgrade here. I always have a jar of Calabrian peppers on hand. Yes, I cook a lot of Italian food, obviously, but just one heaping teaspoon is really going to give the perfect spice flavor to this. So once those shallots are brown, I'm going to add these in and saute for 30 to 45 seconds. I'm just looking to bloom those flavors and bring them out. Next, stir in the garlic and cook it right until it becomes fragrant. Now I'm going to deglaze with about a half cup of dry white wine. Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, all work. Grab that spatula or spoon and scrape all that fod, all that goodness on the bottom of the pan, and seriously, it already smells ridiculous in here. The goal is to cook this down until maybe one to two tablespoons of wine remain. This is known as au sec, or almost gone. Reducing it will concentrate the flavors and give some complexity and acidity to the sauce. Now is when I add in one and a half tablespoons of tomato paste, and what I want to do is pince it and get it to a rust-like color, which will take you three to four minutes of stirring it in. This will only deepen the sweetness and umami of the paste and in return the sauce. It's a simple technique and it just works so well every single time. At this stage of that rusty color, I'm going to add in one and a half cups of good chicken stock, and I've got a great homemade recipe if you want to check that out. Give it a gentle season of salt. I'm going to cook this just for a minute or two over medium heat to begin to concentrate those flavors and get everything married up. Then I'm pouring in one and a half cups of heavy whipping cream, and yes, I'm going to also give it a gentle season of salt, and it's going to cook for three to four minutes to start to thicken that sauce up naturally by reducing it, which will also make it more flavorful. All right, I'm sure you're like, what's with all the salting? Well, when you actually season throughout the cooking process, things become properly seasoned. Plus, you'll actually use less salt because as things cook down and concentrate, the salt will become more pronounced in flavor. This is a way better technique than just waiting to the end to dump a bunch of salt in there to get it to where you want it. It just works, so do it. All right, here's what we do next. The sauce is looking good and the smells, my goodness, the smells in here are just straight up glorious, and it's almost done. But first, a few more things in the flavor department and to help get the consistency right. Let's add in about three-fourths of the sun-dried tomatoes, and then the finely grated parmesan. Stir this in over low heat for about two to three minutes, and you should pretty quickly see that the sauce will begin to thicken up a bit more. The goal is to get it to that perfect nappy consistency, which means it'll perfectly coat the back of a spoon. And the telltale sign is if you run your finger through it and the top part of the sauce doesn't creep down into that streak. We're there, my friends, we're there. To finish this up, I'm giving a final season of salt and pepper. Next, how about mounting with two tablespoons of unsalted butter. This will just add more richness to the sauce and give it that beautiful sheen. Then the minced up fresh thyme, and for a bit more balance, the juice of a half lemon or about one and a half tablespoons. This will help brighten up the dish and cut some of that cream and make this so dang tasty. Gently stir everything together until it's combined, and of course, you have to give it a try. So, so good. Taste your food. It's the quickest way to becoming a better home cook. Okay, let's get the chicken back in and heat everything up along with any juices on that plate. Then sprinkle on the remaining sun-dried tomatoes. This will help give off some brighter tomato flavors and some awesome texture. And I already know a bunch of you are going to ask, well, what would you serve this with? And the possibilities are endless. Roasted potatoes, sauteed broccoli, maybe pasta. Honestly, I've got an entire section on my website dedicated to side dishes. Every kind of potato you can imagine, plenty of easy vegetable sides, and a whole bunch of pasta and rice recipes that would be perfect for soaking up all this sauce. Be sure to check it out. I'll drop a few links at the top and down in the description. All right, let's finish this up. Okay, let's eat, but first to plate it up. I'm going to serve this right in the pan. Let's just spoon some of that sauce over the chicken, then a little sprinkle of parmesan, some crushed red pepper flakes, because why not? And definitely do not forget some minced or torn fresh basil to perfectly complement everything. And of course, time to figure out if it's actually as good as everyone says it is. That's actually really good. Yeah. What do you call this? Marry me, chicken? I'm such a dork. Let's bring in the creation to see what she thinks. That's really good. Yeah, it is. It's ridiculous. Make it. Now, hands down, the perfect dessert to finish this off with would be my apple tart tatin. So easy to make, so delicious. See you on that video. Flavor. I'd marry myself. It's ridiculous.