Baby Yukon Golds parcooked in the microwave, then browned in the fat left behind by a pound and a half of chicken thighs.
Garlic and Italian seasoning bloom in butter for thirty seconds, and a third of a cup of broth becomes a glaze rather than a sauce.
Why This Recipe Works
- The potatoes are cooked before they are browned. Five minutes in the microwave does the inside; the skillet then only has to do the outside, which is the only way to get crisp edges and a soft centre in a thirty-minute cook.
- Chicken out, potatoes in, chicken back. One layer at a time in the pan is what browns anything — the plate at step 3 is not a tidiness measure.
- Thighs rather than breast. Inch pieces of thigh stay tender through browning and a further three to five minutes of simmering; breast would be dry by then.
- Only a third of a cup of broth. It is there to lift the browned bits and glaze the potatoes, and any more would steam the crisp edges the recipe just spent ten minutes building.
- The garlic goes in at medium heat with the butter, after the browning. Five cloves added at high heat with the potatoes would be bitter long before the chicken came back.
Three Heats, And Why The Microwave Is One
A microwave in a skillet recipe reads like a shortcut and it is doing something a skillet cannot: cooking a pound and a half of potato through without browning it. Browning is the skillet's job, and it happens second.
Steam the potatoes through5 minutes, then drained
Quartered baby Yukon Golds with two tablespoons of water, covered, five minutes in the microwave, then drained. This cooks the inside. Skip it and the potatoes need fifteen minutes in the pan, by which time their surfaces are past browned and into burnt.
Brown, in two passes5 to 6 minutes, then 8 to 10
The chicken first, five to six minutes, then out to a plate. Then the potatoes into the same pan for eight to ten, in the fat the chicken left. The pan is never crowded with both at once, which is the whole reason for the plate.
Bloom, then glaze30 seconds, then 3 to 5 minutes to 165°F
Heat down to medium, the remaining two tablespoons of butter with five cloves of garlic and the Italian seasoning for thirty seconds, then the chicken back with a third of a cup of broth. Three to five minutes reduces it to a sauce that coats rather than pools.
Ingredient Notes
- Baby Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
- A pound and a half. Baby potatoes quartered give four cut faces each to brown; a larger potato diced gives fewer edges for the same weight.
- Chicken thighs, 1-inch pieces
- Boneless and skinless, cut to an inch. They brown in five to six minutes and survive the finish; breast at the same size would overcook.
- Unsalted butter, divided
- Three tablespoons: one for browning and two for the garlic butter. Unsalted, because the salt is measured separately and also divided.
- Garlic, minced
- Five cloves, and they go in at medium heat for thirty seconds only. This is a garlic butter dish and burnt garlic is not recoverable.
- Low-sodium chicken broth
- A third of a cup — a glaze, not a sauce. More liquid turns the crisp potatoes soft.
How to Make It
Parcook the potatoes
Place the potatoes in a microwave-safe bowl with 2 tablespoons water, cover and microwave for 5 minutes; drain.
Season the chicken
Season the chicken with half the salt and the pepper.
Brown the chicken
Heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes, then transfer it to a plate.
Brown the potatoes
Add the potatoes to the skillet and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned and tender.
Garlic butter
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the remaining butter, garlic and Italian seasoning and cook for 30 seconds.
Bring it together
Return the chicken to the skillet with the broth and remaining salt. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the chicken reaches 165°F and the sauce coats the potatoes.
Finish
Finish with parsley and serve.
Success Tips
- Drain the microwaved potatoes properly; surface water is the enemy of browning.
- Get the skillet hot before the chicken goes in and leave it alone to colour.
- Do not crowd the pan — chicken out before potatoes in, exactly as written.
- Turn the heat down to medium before the garlic, not after.
- Stop when the broth has reduced to a coating; a puddle means it went too long or too much.
Serving Ideas
It is a complete plate. A green salad or steamed green beans is all it needs, and neither should be dressed with anything creamy.
Storage and Reheating
Refrigerate
Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The potatoes soften in the fridge, which reheating in a pan partly reverses.
Freeze
Freezing is not recommended. Browned potato goes grainy on thawing and the texture is most of this dish.
Reheat
Reheat in a hot skillet with a knob of butter rather than a microwave, so the potato edges crisp again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I skip the microwave step?
Only by cooking the potatoes much longer in the pan, and by then the outsides are past browned. Five minutes in the microwave is what makes the thirty-minute skillet possible.
The potatoes came out soft rather than crisp.
Either they were not drained after the microwave or the pan was crowded. Both trap steam, and steam and browning are mutually exclusive.
Can I add cream to make a sauce?
That makes a different dish, and the recipe rules it out: the potatoes are meant to stay crisp-edged rather than sit in a creamy casserole.
Can I use chicken breast?
You can, cut to the same inch and taken to the same 165°F, but watch it closely — breast has far less margin through the browning and the finish.
