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In the Kitchen: Chicken in Red Wine Sauce

Jodi Squires Fitzgerald, RN, JD

Chicken in Red Wine Sauce

by Jodi Squires Fitzgerald, RN, JD

I have been making this recipe for years. I found it in Slim Gourmet magazine. It’s simple to make, delicious, and low in calories. What’s not to like? — Jodi Squires Fitzgerald

Flour seasoning for chicken

Ingredients – 4 to 8 servings

1 frying chicken, 3.5 lbs., I used 2 lbs. of chicken thighs (4 pieces) for the step-by-step photos — EH Stafford

Flour seasoning

6 tbsp flour (4 tbsp would have been good for 2 lbs of chicken)

½ tsp dried sage

Pinch of dried thyme (1/8 tsp)

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

½ paprika, optional

Chicken wine sauce

1 cup red wine (use a wine you like — the wine makes or breaks this recipe)

2 cups water (I used 1 – 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes)

1 cup tomato juice (I used 1 – 5.5 oz. can low sodium V8 juice)

2 bay leaves

Additions, optional

½ lb. fresh mushrooms

Chopped seasonal vegetables such as patty pan squash, zucchini, carrots, beans, onions for side dish

1 tbsp oil to sauté

½ tsp coriander

2 tbsp butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450F.

Mix ingredients for flour seasoning in a 1 gallon plastic bag. Shake each piece of chicken until coated. Place skin side up on a baking tray. Sprinkle with paprika, if using. Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove chicken pieces from tray and place in an ovenproof casserole dish that has a cover. Combine ingredients for wine sauce and pour into dish.

Note: I covered the chicken with the liquid. When I make this recipe again, I will leave the top part of the chicken above the liquid. It should give a crispier result.

Cover and bake 30 minutes at 350F.

Uncover and continue baking until liquid thickens to sauce consistency. I baked this recipe for an additional 45 minutes. Using a meat thermometer, the chicken should reach 165 degrees.

Use a wine you like

Sauce ingredients

Just out of the oven

Thickening the sauce

Not everything works out exactly as planned

My sauce did not thicken in the casserole dish (and we were hungry, and the chicken was cooked to the correct temperature …), so I poured a ladle full into a pan and boiled it until it thickened and then poured it over the chicken.

Additions

Seasonal veggies make a great side dish

Sauté the mushrooms and place them in the casserole dish when baking the chicken, if you prefer well-cooked mushrooms.

I sautéed a selection of seasonal vegetables in a tbsp of oil including the mushrooms, sprinkled coriander on them, and finished them with a little melted butter and sesame seeds.