Pan roasting chicken produces moist meat and crisp skin

To develop a bone-in chicken breast recipe that produced moist meat, crisp skin, and a quick pan sauce, we turned to pan roasting, where the chicken is browned in a skillet on the stovetop and then slid, skillet and all, into a very hot oven to finish cooking.

This method helped to protect the delicate white meat, which doesn’t have a lot of fat, from drying out. The chicken was added skin side down in a smoking hot skillet, where it formed a gorgeous brown crust and produced plenty of fond.

After lightly browning the second side of the chicken, we moved the skillet to an oven at 450 F where the chicken roasted for just 15 minutes. While the chicken rested, we used the browned bits left in the pan to make a flavourful pan sauce. You will need a 12inch oven-safe skillet for this recipe. If using kosher chicken, do not brine. If brining the chicken, do not season with salt in first step.

PAN-ROASTED CHICKEN BREASTS WITH SHALLOT-THYME SAUCE Servings: 4

Start to finish: 1 hour

Chicken:

4 (12-ounce) bone-in split chicken breasts, trimmed, brined if desired

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Sauce:

1 large shallot, minced 3/4 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup dry vermouth or