Pan-Roasted Chicken with Sweet Sausage and Peppers

By lindsayvk

Here a chicken is cut into pieces, seasoned, and cooked with sausages, then added to a stew of peppers that's seasoned and finished in the oven. This is a wonderfully satisfying dish with the robust flavors of the peppers and sausage.

Ingredients

• Two 2 1/2- to 3-pound chickens
• Chicken brine, cold
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Canola oil
• 3 sweet Italian sausages
• Peperonata Rustica
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Fleur de sel
• 1/4 About 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

1. Cut the chicken into 8 pieces each: 2 legs, 2 thighs, 2 breast halves, and 2 wings.
2. Pour the brine into a container large enough to hold the chicken, add the chicken, and refrigerate for 12 hours (no longer, or the chicken may become too salty).
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
4. Remove the chicken from the brine (discard brine) and rinse under cold water, removing any herbs or spices sticking to the skin. Pat dry with paper towels or let air-dry. Season the thighs and drumsticks with salt and pepper.
5. Heat some canola oil in a large ovenproof saute pan or Dutch oven over medium heat until hot. Add the chicken thighs and drumsticks, skin side down, and cook for 3 minutes. Add the sausage and cook until the chicken is golden and the sausage is browned and crisp, 10 to 12 minutes (it won't be fully cooked); once the chicken is browned, turn the pieces over and sear the other side for 1 minute. Transfer the individual pieces and the sausages to a plate as they are ready.
6. Season the chicken wings and breasts with salt and pepper, place skin-side-down in the saute pan, and cook until the skin is crisp and golden and the chicken is almost cooked through, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
7. Drain any remaining oil from the pan and return to the heat. Add the peperonata to the pan, bring to a simmer, and add the chicken, tucking it into the peppers. Cut the sausages in half and nestle them in the pan. Transfer to the oven and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
8. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil, sprinkle with fleur de sel, and top with the parsley leaves. Sere directly from the pan.