Balsamic Chicken with Thyme

This Balsamic Chicken with Thyme recipe is good enough for company and easy enough for the novice chef. The flavorful balsamic sauce is hard to resist. Once you get the hang of making a quick sauce like this, you can easily change the flavor by altering the seasonings.

• 1/4 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper
• 4 boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large sweet onion, cut in half then thinly sliced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried

Mix flour and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper on a plate. Dredge chicken through the mixture and shake off excess.

In a large skillet, heat oil. Add chicken and cook 10 minutes or until browned and cooked through. Remove chicken to a plate and cover with foil.

Add onion to skillet and saute 1 to 2 minutes until lightly browned. Add broth, balsamic vinegar, thyme and remaining salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook stirring often, 7 minutes or until onions are soft and sauce is syrupy. Be sure to scrap the browned bits of chicken from the bottom of the pan into the balsamic sauce.

Pour sauce over top of chicken. Garnish with a sprinkle of thyme. This Balsamic Chicken with Thyme recipe serves 4.

Find other ideas for easy entree recipes here.

How To Make a Pan Sauce

In the recipe above, The video below teaches us how to make a pan sauce. The recipe demonstrated is Pork Tenderloin with Dried Cherries and looks fantastic.

The basic steps of any good pan sauce are:

• Brown meat in a heavy skillet - In this video, they use a pork tenderloin and brown it in oil about 2 minutes per side.
• Roast meat - After browning, roast the meat in a 400 degree oven "for 9-12 minutes or until it reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees." When the meat is cooked, transfer it to a serving platter and tent with foil.
• Saute vegetables - They use shallots but you could use onions, mushrooms or another favorite, finely chopped vegetable. Saute them just until slightly browned.
• Deglaze the pan - Using a couple tablespoons of liquid, such as wine or broth, slowly add to pan and scrap up the browned bits. This is where all the flavor from the meat resides and is the most important ingredient in a flavorul pan sauce. Take your time and make sure you have all the bits loosened from the bottom of the pan.
• Add liquid - To make the quantity of pan sauce needed, add the appropriate amount of liquid to the pan. Broth or cream is most commonly used for this step. If using cream, make sure you gently simmer it. If it boils, it will curdle! Also, add juices from meat, if any. After the liquid is added, simmer for a few minutes until the sauce is of desired consistency.
• Add additional ingredients - In this video they add dried cherries during this step. Another very common ingredient to add is capers, like in a Chicken Piccata sauce.
• Add butter - This step is optional but many chefs add it because it creates a richer, glistening pan sauce. If you choose to add it, turn off the heat first.
• Taste for seasoning - Now is your chance to season the pan sauce properly. Add salt and pepper as needed.

At serving time, slice the meat against the grain on a diagonal. This makes is easier to eat and less chewy. Lastly, pour the pan sauce over the meat and sprinkle with herb of choice. Parsley, thyme or rosemary are commonly used.

Watch this video from schnuckscooks.com to learn how make a pan sauce and get the recipe for Pork Tenderloin with Dried Cherries.

Whether you make the Balsamic Chicken with Thyme recipe or the Pork Tenderloin with Dried Cherries demonstrated in the video, you will agree that both recipes are tasty because of the pan sauce that is served over the meat.

Pan sauces are quick and easy to make and usually make the dish. It's a great technique to learn especially if you like to host dinner parties.