Oven roasted chicken with beer

• 15 minutes to prepare • 45 minutes to cook • 1 hour to marinate • Serves 4

Fall 

Even though the days have been heating up, nights have ushered in a welcome cool here in Milan. Not quite sweater or jacket weather—but soon. Autumn officially began last week, and you can sense the shift. Clear dry air, different quality of light, and this morning, at 7 a.m., the sky was still dark. I’m ready.

With the onset of fall, I’ve been embracing the braise in the kitchen, too.
Roasted pumpkin, the first soups. And today, chicken breasts in beer with rosemary.
The style of cooking suits not only the season, but also my temperament these busy workdays. Take a meat and brown it, building a foundation of flavor in the oven. Cover it, and let it simmer, undisturbed, into succulence, while you go about the affairs of the day.

The beauty of this chicken dish is that it doesn’t take hours to braise. Less than one hour, really. Inspired by a recipe on Cucchiaio, I used beer as the braising liquid.
As the beer simmers and reduces, it tenderizes the chicken. It melds, transforming into a sauce imbued with the ale’s malt and hops.

There are a number of sides that would be excellent with this. Roasted root vegetables. Creamy polenta. Wild rice.
I chose to make fresh spinach. Use any type of green that you happen to enjoy, or have on hand.
Here’s to a new season of cooking, eating and sharing.

Here's what you will need for the 4-serving recipe:

800 g chicken cut into 4 pieces
400 ml IPA beer
1 clove garlic
10 g butter
rosemary
EVO oil
salt and pepper

1. Wash the pieces of chicken and dry them
2. Then transfer them into a container together with the beer, the garlic clove cut by half, and fresh rosemary
3. Cover the container with food film, and let it marinate, for 1 hour in the refrigerator. After this time, drain them from the marinade and cover them with flour
4. Pour 2 tablespoons of oil and the butter in a saucepan and sauté the chicken
5. Turn them often so that they are evenly browned, then add a pinch of salt and transfer them to a baking tray
6. Add the marinade you kept aside, and bake in the oven at 200° for 45 minutes. Serve warm

Nutrition Facts are listed for this recipe in the table below. Data is provided per serving.