These Cajun Braised Chicken Thighs, are tender, moist, and juicy chicken thighs, with a zesty chicken gravy, that make a hearty, rustic, spicy comfort food meal, especially when served over rice or mashed potatoes.
Season and Flour The Chicken Thighs. Sprinkle salt and pepper, and Cajun Seasoning evenly over all sides of the chicken thighs. Then pour the half cup flour in a flat bottomed dish and dredge each piece of chicken through it. Shake each chicken piece over the dish with flour to shake off any excess flour from the pieces of chicken.
Brown The Chicken. Cook the chicken thighs in 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil in either a deep, large skillet or Dutch Oven, over medium-high heat, for about 3 or 4 minutes until the chicken is browned on one side. Turn the chicken and cook 3 or 4 minutes on the other side. Remove the chicken from the skillet.
Cook the Onions and Garlic. Add the remaining oil or butter, if needed, to the skillet and cook the onions for about 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of minced garlic and stir for a minute.
Braise The Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs. Reduce the heat to medium low. Pour the chicken broth and wine in the skillet and add the browned chicken thighs in the broth. Cover and cook on low heat to simmer the chicken for 20 minutes. (NOTE: If using BONE-IN chicken thighs, after 20 minutes of cooking, uncover and scrape the bottom of the pan, and then re-cover and cook for an additional 20 - 25 minutes. For BONELESS chicken thighs, skip the additional cooking time.)
Serve The Chicken. Remove the chicken from the broth and place on a serving platter or on serving plates with white rice. Pour the sauce or gravy over the chicken. Sprinkle with chopped fresh thyme or green onions.
BONELESS vs BONE-IN Chicken Thighs. Be aware that using BONE-IN chicken thighs increases the cooking time by an ADDITIONAL 20-25 minutes.
SALT & PEPPER. The salt and pepper is optional. It is possible that it may not be needed if your Cajun Seasoning is extra salty or extra pepper-y. The amount of salt and pepper can vary per brand. Therefore, you may need to reduce or even leave out the salt and pepper depending on the Cajun Seasoning you use.
CAYENNE. This is also optional depending on how spicy your Cajun seasoning is and what your heat level preference is. If you want it hotter add the additional cayenne, the more you add, the more spicy it will taste. If the Cajun Seasoning is spicy enough, then leave out the cayenne.
CHICKEN BROTH. I recommend using a reduced chicken broth so you can control the amount of salt in the recipe. With regular chicken broth in addition to the Cajun seasoning, sometimes it can be too salty.
WHITE WINE. The wine is optional, but it does add flavor. If you want to leave out the wine, then add 1 more cup of chicken broth on top of the 2 cups chicken broth for a total of 3 cups chicken broth.