Chicken with Balsamic & Garlic

How to Boil Water, p. 136

10 cloves garlic,

Flour, for dredging

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

1 ¼ cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons water

1 to 2 tablespoons butter (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Smash and peel the garlic.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Put the flour on a large plate. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season all over with salt and black pepper. Dredge (coat) the chicken in the flour and shake off any excess. Add the oil to the hot pan and swirl to evenly coat. Lay the chicken in the pan smooth side down. Scatter the garlic around the chicken. Cook the chicken, turning once, until golden, about 5 minutes per side. (Turn the garlic a few times so it cooks evenly.) 

Walmart only had elephant garlic, which made this kind of fun.

Transfer chicken to a baking dish and bake until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Leave the garlic in the skillet.

Pour the vinegar into the hot skillet. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Boil until almost all the vinegar evaporates and it gest a little syrupy, about 1 minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.

Mix the flour and water together to make a thin paste (that’s called a ‘slurry’). Whisk the slurry into the broth and boil until the sauce thickens, about 1 minute more. 

Slurry!

Stir in butter, if using. Season the sauce with salt and black pepper. Add any collected juices from the chicken to the sauce. Put chicken on a plate, pour the sauce and garlic on top, and serve.

Oh such garlic!

My Rating: 4/5 "Loved this. So tender and juicy and balsamic-y. We discovered that it's nice if you cut off a little garlic and the pieces with bites of the chicken. But even if you don't do that there's still good garlic flavor cooked in."