Dijon chicken with pierogies is one of the most delicious luscious easy weeknight dinners. Jam packed with bold flavors it is a perfect cozy dinner that will warm your soul with the warm dijon mustard pan sauce on top of the buttery browned chicken and the soft pillowy potato pierogies. It is mop up your plate and lick your fingers good.
Chicken Thighs
This recipe calls for skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs. Chicken thighs have more flavor and are cheaper than breasts. I know that some people shy away from skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs, you can substitute in any kind of chicken you want.
When you cook skin-on chicken thighs (or breasts) you will want to trim any fat that is overhanging the meat, however try not to over-trim because the skin will shrink as it cooks. Once the pan it hot, place the chicken skin-side down first and let it brown and crisp up. If you are using a stainless steal pan, the skin will attach to the bottom of the pan. You will need to wait before flipping the thigh over, so that the skin is not torn off. Let it continue to brown, once the skin is perfectly brown it will release itself from the pan without tearing or leaving pieces on the bottom of the pan.
Chicken should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165F. To test the temperature, poke the thermometer into the largest chicken piece making sure to get into the meat, keep it away from the bone of the thigh.
Pierogies
A traditionally Polish dish that pasta-dumpling-like. They are a dough filled pocket that is traditionally stuffed with whipped mashed potatoes and onion or cheddar cheese. They are delicious when quickly pan fried with a little bit of butter so that the outside crisps up and the creamy potato is hot in the middle. You can buy them frozen or pre-made refrigerated.
Dijon Mustard Pan Sauce
There is nothing better than a good traditional quick pan sauce to really take it to the next level. This Dijon mustard pan sauce is amazing. Full of bold delicious French inspired flavors, think Julia Child, with only a few quick flavors to whisk together. I am obsessed.
Dijon Chicken with Pierogies
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Chicken Thighs (4 pieces)
- 2 TBSP Butter divided
- 1 TBSP Fresh Thyme + 3 sprigs
- 1 Shallot, thinly sliced
- 1½ cups Chicken Stock
- 3 TBSP Dijon Mustard or Gray Poupon
- ½ tsp Salt plus more to taste
- 16 oz Classic Pierogies about 12
- Garnish - Chopped Parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the over to 350F and get out a sheet pan.
- Sprinkle a pinch of salt on top of the chicken thighs. Pat the chicken thighs dry.
- In a large pan, over medium high heat, add 1 TBSP of butter, 3 sprigs of fresh thyme and place your chicken skin-side down to brown, about 10-15 minutes.Flip the chicken over and cook for another 2-3 minutes. If you are using a stainless steel pan, do not tear the skin, if you try to flip the chicken over and it is stuck to the bottom of the pan, wait a few more minutes, when it done browning it will release easily.
- Remove the chicken from the heat. Place the chicken skin-side up on a sheet pan with edges. Pour the any leftover melted butter and the thyme sprigs onto the top of the chicken. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes, until the internal temperature is 165F.
- When the chicken is in the oven, in the same pan you browned the thighs in, over medium heat, add in ½TBSP of butter, thinly sliced shallots. Cook the shallots until they become fragrant and soft, about 5 minutes.
- Once the shallots are soft, add in the chicken stock and deglaze the pan. Using a spoon or spatula (for a non-stick pan) stir the chicken stock and carefully scrap up the the bits on the bottom of the pan to add flavor into the sauce.
- Whisk in the Dijon mustard until it is even distributed. Add in the salt and let it continue to cook. If the sauce is getting too thick, turn down the heat. If the sauce becomes too thick, add water to fix the consistency. If you add too much water, turn the heat up a little so that it reduces back to the perfect consistency. Water will not affect the flavors but will help you fix the sauce is you need to.
- In a small nonstick pan, on medium heat add the remaining ½ TBSP of butter, once it has melted add in the pierogies so that they brown and crisp up, about 2-3 minutes on each side.
- Add the pierogies to the Dijon mustard sauce. Add in the remaining 1 TBSP thyme.
- Add your chicken into the pan. Garnish with parsley.
