I updated this super easy recipe from a 1960s newspaper clipping that my mother had saved. I changed it by substituting a douse of good sherry and dry vermouth for red wine or cooking wine. The chicken, mushrooms, and paprika combination harkens back to the comfort foods of my childhood—albeit in a more sophisticated version.–Ronda Carman
Sherry-Braised Chicken and Artichoke FAQs
If you’re looking for a full, Sunday supper sort of meal, add a starch of some kind, like an easy rice dish, mashed potatoes, or simple pasta tossed in olive oil. If you’re feeling fancy, a mushroom risotto would pair beautifully, too. If you’re not looking for a heavy addition, a simple mixed green salad with a lovely, light sherry vinaigrette would work quite nicely.
Canned artichokes are processed and packed in a mildly acidic salt solution, so they need to be rinsed and dried prior to use. Frozen artichokes just need to be thawed out completely before being added to a recipe. As far as taste and texture, frozen may have a slight edge on flavor but tend to be a bit more delicate and more apt to fall apart than canned. Canned artichokes are readily available in the grocery store, and although they may (not always) exhibit a bit of a “tin” taste when eaten directly from the can, when added to most recipes it is not noticeable.
Sherry-Braised Chicken with Artichoke Hearts
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- One (3-pound) whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
- 6 tablespoons (3 oz) unsalted butter, divided
- 2 tablespoons dry vermouth
- 2 cups quartered cremini mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup canned chicken broth or homemade chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons dry sherry
- Kosher salt to taste
- One (14-oz) can artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained, and halved
- Fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
- In a small bowl, mix together the sea salt, pepper, and paprika. Sprinkle the mixture on all sides of the chicken.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 4 tablespoons (57 g) of the butter. Cook the chicken until browned on all sides, working in batches if needed, 7 to 15 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a large Dutch oven.
☞ TESTER TIP: Want to use fewer dishes and save on cleanup? Brown the chicken in the Dutch oven or use an oven safe skillet for browning and braising.
- Splash the vermouth into the skillet and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter (28 g).
- When the butter starts to foam add the mushrooms and sauté until softened, 3 to 6 minutes. Sprinkle the mushrooms with flour and stir.
- While continuously stirring, pour the chicken broth and the sherry in a thin stream. Simmer and stir until thickened slightly, about 2 minutes more. Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper.
- Pour the mushroom and sherry sauce over the chicken. Wedge the artichoke hearts between the chicken pieces. Cover and cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F (75°C), 45 to 55 minutes.
- To serve, place the chicken pieces on a large platter and top with the artichoke hearts, mushrooms, juices, and parsley.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This sherry-braised chicken with artichoke hearts recipe made it to my 3-inch binder of family favorites. Accolades all around! You’ll want to make extra because leftovers taste even better. It’s just a wonderful combination of umami flavors that keep you coming back for more. The abundant sauce coated and flavored the steamed rice we served as a side. I used a large oven-safe sauté pan which doubled up as my Dutch oven, making clean up even quicker.
I have a few recipes for chicken with artichokes that we enjoy but I’m always up to try a new twist. The addition of vermouth and sherry sounded interesting and are flavors we enjoy. It smelled wonderful when the vermouth was added to the sautéed mushrooms and even better after adding the sherry. The aromas were so strong I had concerns that the flavors might be overpowering but this was not the case.
This sherry-braised chicken with artichokes was prepped in less than 15 minutes with very little chopping which was a nice change. The chicken was cooked perfectly in 45 minutes. I would have liked a thicker sauce which might have been achieved had the chicken needed longer cooking but next time I think I will increase the flour a bit to get a more gravy-like consistency.
Remember the aroma of braised chicken rafting from the oven? How about eating something called an artichoke? If you’re a child of the 1960’s or 1970’s you will likely remember a version of this dish although it was probably reserved for company and considered “gourmet” cooking! Be ready to refresh those memories with this no-fuss retro dish that my tasters enjoyed without hesitation.
Whole chickens are much harder to find these days than in the 1960’s. I used 8 bone-in chicken thighs (total weight 3 pounds) which braised up so tender and tasty. The recipe calls for deglazing the pan with vermouth, but a splash of chicken broth works just as well. Sherry is an absolute flavor bomb. The dish won’t be the same without it. A pinch of thyme and sprinkle of minced parsley would be a nice flavor addition stirred into the sherry-flavored sauce before pouring it over the chicken. Frozen artichokes are a fresher tasting alternative to the canned product.
My tasters gave this recipe a Tester’s Choice rating with two thumbs up. All-in-all it was a comforting meal served over fettuccine tossed in melted butter with minced parsley, roasted green beans, and a toast to the cook with glasses of Chardonnay.
Easy to put together and rich with earthy flavors, this sherry-braised chicken dish was a huge hit and a bit of a surprise. I had been speculating that the artichoke hearts might not work with the other ingredients, but not only did they work, but each mouthful wouldn’t have tasted as complete without them.
To make the prep for this dish even easier and to focus on the chicken pieces we prefer, I stuck to thighs for this recipe. In general, the instructions were extremely easy to follow and the timing was close. My only suggestion would be to reduce the heat during the deglazing step to avoid potentially burning the browned bits, but otherwise, the process was simple and easy and the result was well worth it. This dish goes well with rice or perhaps a crusty loaf for sopping up the sauce.
Gourmet comfort food… mmmmm! This harkens back (in a good way) to the days when my mom would pour a can of Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup over a bunch of chicken and let it simmer away… of course, this is way better! I could not believe how easily this came together. The chicken was super juicy, tender, and flavorful. I will definitely be making this again.
I was a bit disappointed because when I poured the mushroom sauce over the chicken before cooking it had a lovely, thick and creamy consistency. When the chicken finished cooking, it was more like a thin broth. I think in the future I will make twice as much sauce and reserve half to pour over the finished chicken. I also think soy sauce would be the perfect umami to kick this up a notch.
I was really drawn to the simple ingredient list and straightforward cooking process. There were a couple of minor barriers for me (deconstructing a chicken on a weeknight? Dry sherry isn’t exactly in my cooking rotation…) that I’m glad I pushed past. This was in fact a really simple meal to prepare, the end product was lovely and it would definitely pass as a “good enough for company” dish when served on a platter with a couple of nice sides (not just out of the Dutch oven with a bagged salad like it was served up for my hubs and I!) Good flavors and I don’t typically cook with artichokes so that was a fun add to the rotation.
After I tackled my chicken, a task that I generally know how to do but am not that proficient at, this was a breeze. Prep was super easy, ingredients straightforward and practically a pantry meal, minus the mushrooms.
I served with a green salad and crusty bread but mashed or baked potatoes, rice, or even shredding the chicken and serving it with the sauce over pasta would be so good!
When I see the word ‘braised’ in the title of the recipe I am immediately drawn to it. You can almost always bet that a recipe involving braising will be both tender and economical to make. This recipe for sherry-braised chicken with artichoke hearts was both those things and also super flavorful and sophisticated.
The main reasons for the intense flavor in this dish are the paprika rub on the chicken itself, the use of butter to brown the chicken, and the splash of rich dry sherry in the sauce. Tender mushrooms paired just wonderfully with the sherry, butter, and chicken, and I loved the surprising tang of the artichoke hearts. Overall, this was my kind of chicken dish. It has a casual French poulet bonne femme flair to it, but it could also easily be an elegant dish for entertaining.
I was excited to try this sherry-braised chicken because it has so many elements and flavors that I like. It far exceeded my expectations and got rave reviews from my resident taster! The chicken pieces were nicely seasoned and had a nice crisp skin after browning them in the butter. After cooking for 50 minutes, the pieces were practically “fall off the bone” tender. The mushrooms and artichokes were a great accompaniment.
One thing I would change is that I would add more mushrooms and artichokes. The mushrooms, especially, absorbed the flavorful sauce and we couldn’t get enough of them. I might like more of the sauce as well! Overall, a flavorful, simple dish to prepare. I bought a chicken already cut up, making it even quicker. I served this with a simple fennel salad and sourdough bread.
This recipe was very nice. It was simple to pull together, very tasty and I might say elegant. 🙂 I did not have Sherry on hand so substituted with Marsala. It was probably sweeter than intended but we enjoyed all the flavours. This recipe will be in my winter rotation and shared with friends.
Tannis, I’m delighted you enjoyed the chicken! It’s a great winter dish–cozy and warming.