Guinness Beer-Braised Chicken Thighs
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The entire family will love the deep, rich flavors in these Guinness Beer-Braised Chicken Thighs with carrots and petite potatoes! Use a fork, use your fingers, use chopsticks if you need to… just make sure you make these amazing meal soon!
Check out this Irish Pub Food page for even more delicious Irish recipes.
And the gravy….OMGosh the chicken-Guinness®-onion-garlic infused juices make the most amazing gravy.
The alcohol will cook out so we don’t have to worry about the kiddies getting drunk, but the flavor sticks around to enhance the entire meal.
Guinness Beer-Braised Chicken Thighs are easy enough for weeknight meals, and fancy enough to impress dinner guests!
How do you make Guinness Beer-Braised Chicken Thighs?
Combine the brown sugar, chili powder, salt, cayenne, and black pepper together in a small bowl.
Sprinkle the spice mixture evenly over the chicken thighs. Rub the mixture over both sides of the chicken thighs.
Let stand for 10 minutes.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, skin side down.
Cook until the chicken is browned and the skin is crisp. Flip the chicken over and brown the second side.
Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.
Add the carrots, celery, onion, and potatoes to the drippings in the skillet.
Cook until the onions and celery are tender, about five minutes, stirring occasionally to keep them from burning.
Stir in the flour.
Add the beer, broth, and garlic. Stir to combine.
Bring to a simmer, then return the chicken thighs to the skillet.
Cover and cook until chicken thighs are thoroughly cooked (at least 180 degrees), 40 to 50 minutes.
Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs and celery leaves (or chopped parsley) and serve.
So, so, yummy!! I removed 1 cup of the pan drippings to make the gravy before taking the pictures. I didn’t think walking across the house with a hot skillet filled with hot liquid would be a good idea! 😉
Recipe Notes
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Trim the excess fat/skin off the chicken thighs.
with kitchen shears or a sharp knife.
It makes the chicken thighs look nicer, and none of us really needs to eat that much chicken skin, right? 😉
- I chose the thinnest carrots in the bag. Peeled them, then cut them in half to shorten them so they would fit in the pan.
- The petite potatoes are sliced in half lengthwise so they cook evenly.
- I used this 12-inch Cast Iron Skillet and a lid from a different skillet.
- I chose Guinness®for the deep, rich flavor that it adds. Use whichever beer you prefer, it will still be delicious.
- There are no substitutions for the beer, except maybe wine!
How do you make gravy with pan drippings?
In a medium sauce pan, melt butter or olive oil over low heat.
Whisk in the flour and heat to a simmer. Continue simmering for 1 minute.
Pour in 1 cup of pan dripping from the skillet.
Whisk together and heat until gravy starts to thicken. Do not boil gravy or it will break/separate.
Pour into gravy boat and serve.
More delicious chicken skillet recipes:
- Chicken au Champagne – one of the most popular recipes on Cooking with Curls!
- Skillet Chicken Cacciatore
- Lemon-Garlic Skillet Chicken
- Skillet Chicken Potpie
- Chicken Scaloppine
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Enjoy!!
Guinness Beer-Braised Chicken Thighs
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1.5 teaspoons chili powder
- .125 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/8th teaspoon – add more for added heat
- .25 teaspoon sea salt
- .25 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs excess fat trimmed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 skinny whole carrots peeled and cut in half
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 medium yellow onion sliced
- .75 pound petite potatoes sliced in half lengthwise
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 12 ounce bottle Guinness® Stout Beer
- 0.5 cup chicken stock
- 5 whole cloves garlic peeled
- fresh thyme sprigs to garnish
Instructions
- Combine the brown sugar, chili powder, salt, cayenne, and black pepper together in a small bowl.
- Sprinkle the spice mixture evenly over the chicken thighs. Rub the mixture over both sides of the chicken thighs. Let stand for 10 minutes.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, skin side down.
- Cook until the chicken is browned and the skin is crisp. Flip the chicken over and brown the second side.
- Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.
- Add the carrots, celery, onion, and potatoes to the drippings in the skillet. Cook until the onions and celery are tender, about five minutes, stirring occasionally to keep them from burning.
- Stir in the flour.
- Add the beer, broth, and garlic. Stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, then return the chicken thighs to the skillet.
- Cover and cook until chicken thighs are thoroughly cooked {at least 180 degrees}, 40 to 50 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs and celery leaves {or chopped parsley} and serve.
Notes
- I chose the thinnest carrots in the bag. Peeled them, then cut them in half to shorten them so they would fit in the pan.
- The petite potatoes are sliced in half lengthwise so they cook evenly.
- I chose Guinness®for the deep, rich flavor that it adds. Use whichever beer you prefer, it will still be delicious.
- There are no substitutions for the beer, except maybe red wine!
hello,
I just had a quick question before I made this.
Why do i need to preheat the oven?
I don’t know if i’m missing something or reading it wrong (it is 6:30am) but I just can’t seem to figure out where the oven comes into play.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
That is a really awesome question, Ashley!! My brain must have thought the chicken was going into the oven at some point as I was typing up the post. Sorry about the confusion. 🙂
Made this tonight for St. Patrick’s Day. My son doesn’t care for corned beef, and this seemed like a good way to celebrate without one. I didn’t use skin-on thighs because I am trying to lower my cholesterol, but I seasoned them the same, adding dried thyme to the seasoning mixture. Followed the rest of the directions. Everyone enjoyed it. I used low sodium broth because it’s what I had, so it needed more salt, but that’s the broth’s fault, not the recipe’s. Will definitely make again.
Thank you so much Jennifer, I am so glad you liked it!