Smothered Chicken
This smothered chicken recipe is made with juicy fried chicken breasts tossed in a flavorful gravy with crispy bacon. It's truly a restaurant worthy meal right at home!
Nutrition Facts
Ingredients
Instructions
Prework: Add chicken dredge ingredients to a large plate and toss to combine. Set aside. Measure out gravy ingredients prior to beginning.
Cook the Bacon: Fry bacon over medium-low heat until crispy on both sides. Remove from pan and pour grease into a heat-safe bowl. Reserve 2-4 Tablespoons of clear bacon drippings. Wipe any black residue from the pan if needed.
Slice & Pound the Chicken: While the bacon cooks, slice each chicken breast in half lengthwise to create 2 thinner slices. Place saran wrap over them and use a meat tenderizer to pound them to about 3/4 inches thick. This gives them a little more texture for the flour dredge to hold on to. They’ll plump up more when cooked.
Coat the Chicken: Wipe the chicken dry and coat generously in the flour mixture, get in every nook and cranny.
Cook the Chicken: Add the reserved bacon drippings to the clean pan and enough vegetable oil to cover the chicken by half. Heat over medium-high heat. Once heated and glistening, add the chicken. Fry 2 at a time for 4-5 minutes per side, until they have a nice golden sear. Set aside on a plate. Adjust heat down slightly and back up throughout cooking as needed.
Drain the oil: Remove the oil from the pot and use a paper towel to remove any black spots from the pan, but leave any brown remnants. This is called ‘fond’ and will give the gravy a nice flavor.
Make the Roux: Melt the butter over medium heat and use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the flour gradually, whisking continuously, until a paste forms.
Add the Broth and Half and Half: Add the liquid in small increments, whisking constantly. It will thicken up in between each splash of liquid. If you add it all at once, you’ll “break” the roux and it won’t be thick.
Add remaining gravy ingredients: Slowly add the beef bouillon, soy sauce, and seasonings.
Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add a few drops of kitchen bouquet if a darker color is desired.
Add the chicken back to the pan along with any juice from the plate.
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Continue Reading at Thecozycook →Chef's Notes
*Nutritional information is per serving and is based on using all of the breading and oil without any ingredient being discarded.
To Control the Consistency of the Gravy:
Add the chicken broth/half and half to the roux slowly and in small increments. This is the key to keeping the consistency nice and thick.
For thicker gravy: Let it continue to simmer, uncovered.
For thinner gravy: Add a splash of half and half, milk, or broth.
Other Pro Tips:
Ensure the oil is hot enough prior to adding the chicken to ensure the breading stays on.
Create texture on the surface of the chicken with a meat tenderizer to give the breading more to cling on to, this will give it more of a fried chicken look. Work the breading into every nook and cranny.
Chicken thighs or pork chops can be used in this recipe instead of chicken breasts.
To control the sodium in this recipe, you can use unsalted butter and/or reduced sodium broth. Additional salt can always be added if desired. (You can also omit the bacon, but it does add a nice flavor and crunch!)
This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 96!
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Reviews from the Original Source
My husband and I LOVED this recipe! Will definitely make again and again. We followed the recipe exactly and it is one of the best meals I have ever eaten!
This was delicious! I am thinking of making this for Thanksgiving because most of my family are not turkey fans. Since it's for around 15 people and to simplify things, I'm wondering if I can put it in a 9 x 13 and in the oven for a the final amount of time. once the gravy is done and the chicken is browned on each side. Instead of cooking it in the pan the last 10-15 minutes. Have you ever tried it this way and has it worked? Thanks for any input!
THIS WAS SOOOO GOOD. Seriously one of my fave recipes of all time. I did it without the bacon (don't eat red meat) and it was still insanely delicious. Highly recommend
OH em gee! This was SO yummy! All of my family loved it! I didn’t even use all the ingredients and it was SO good! My son and I are dairy free, so I subbed oat milk and it worked beautifully! I didn’t add all of the bacon and it was good with and without bacon. That gravy!!!! That coating on the chicken!!! Oh my! I just used the butter with pan bits, flour, chicken stock, oat milk and herbs and it was phenomenal!!! We used rice instead of mashed potatoes since that was what I had on hand. I am just in love with that gravy! Thank you so much! Will be making again soon!!!!
I have made this several times..My family LOVES this recipe! So good!!!
OMG this was SOOOOO good! Definitely on rotation!
This recipe is amazing!! Thank you for sharing!
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