braised chicken with fennel, orange, and olives
America's test kitchen
This recipe came out pretty well, but had room for improvement. I liked the flavor of the sauce; the anise from the fennel, sweetness from the orange, and brininess from the olives created a dynamic flavor profile. The recipe is also fairly easy, with only 30-45 minutes of active time. It's a good way to use up some spare chicken legs lying around, which is exactly why I chose it.
The one issue I had was the poor seasoning and sear on the chicken. This was partly my fault; I did not salt the chicken ahead of time and give it plenty of time to dry out. Although this is not a written instruction, it always helps. However, another problem was that the recipe has you sear a whopping eight chicken thighs in a single pan. Even with our largest dutch oven, the pan was extremely crowded. This prevented the chicken skin from getting a golden-brown sear, and also inhibited the fat from rendering. If I make this again, I will sear the legs in two batches, time permitting.
Apart from my searing grievances, this was a fine recipe. It's not life-changing, but it's fairly low effort and has fun flavor. I may or may not make it again. We'll see.
The only deviation I made from the recipe was substituting 2 tbsp white wine and one star anise pod in place of Perod. I can't imagine ever having another use for Perod, so I will continue using this substitution. Oh, and I used 6 thighs and 2 total drumsticks instead of eight thighs. I figure as long as you're using bone-on dark meat, it doesn't make much difference.