Studio Living: My dishwasher is small, but this was worth it

I have a thing about poultry skin. Generally speaking, I think it's icky. The only exception I delightfully make is for Peking Duck. If I am offered fried chicken, I'm as likely as not to pull off the skin and give it to someone who appreciates it.

I'm not going to argue that cooking with the skin on will make for juicier meat. I also have friends who love poultry skin, so when I found this recipe, the cabbage and bacon and braising intrigued me, I invited one of them over for dinner. Conveniently, he arrived early and I got some assistance, which was much needed due to space constraints, which I'll get into in a bit.

The ingredients are all things I find tasty, though I did make a few adjustments: (I also capitalized Tablespoon in this list)

• 2 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (6 to 8 thighs; 1.15kg) (I ended up with 8, which didn't all fit in my sauté pan, I'll get to that in a bit)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) vegetable oil
• 8 ounces (225g) slab bacon or salt pork, cut into 1/2- by 1/4-inch lardons
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced (about 6 ounces; 170g)
• 1 pound finely shredded cabbage (about 1 medium head; 450g)
• 2 Tablespoons (30ml) whole-grain mustard (I added another Tablespoon)
• 1/2 cup (120ml) apple cider vinegar (I added another 2 Tablespoons)
• 1 cup (235ml) homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
• 3 Tablespoons sugar (I cut this down to 1)
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 sprigs thyme (more like a dozen)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I completely forgot about this and didn't really need it)

So lots of dishes because the cabbage needed a place to go when it was sliced, as did the bacon and the onion. My counter got rather full. It probably would have helped if I'd had time to unload my dishwasher before I got started, but I had been hard at work on another project and lost track of time.

1. Adjust oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Season chicken generously with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 4- to 5-quart straight-sided sauté pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook without moving it until well-browned and crisp, about 8 minutes total, lowering heat if it starts to smoke excessively. Flip chicken and brown lightly on second side, about 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to a large plate and set aside. (I cooked the thighs for a little less time. I got plenty of fat into the pan, but knowing the chicken was going to be in the oven for 40 minutes or so, I didn't think it needed to be pre-cooked this much.)
2. Add bacon to pan and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. (this needs to be done more, in my opinion. Most of the way to crispy is where I'll go when I do this again) Drain off all but 1/4 cup (60ml) rendered fat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened and starting to brown, about 4 minutes (Ha! Browning onions never happens in 4 minutes). Add cabbage and cook, stirring, until softened and starting to brown, about 4 minutes (a little salt on the cabbage will help get the water out of it. This will also take a lot longer than 4 minutes. I wish recipes didn't do this. If you catch me underestimating times in my own recipes, call me out on it, please!). Add mustard and vinegar and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan. Add chicken stock, sugar, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs, and bring to a simmer.
3. Nestle chicken back into sauté pan, leaving the skin above the liquid but submerging most of the meat. Transfer pan to oven and cook uncovered, until chicken is totally tender and liquid has reduced by about half, about 45 minutes.  (I thought I could get everything in one place, but my guest pointed out my sauté pan was too small for all 8 thighs and this much cabbage, so it got split into two pans).
4. Remove from oven and transfer chicken to a serving platter. Stir butter into sauté pan and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, spooning cabbage and sauce into shallow bowls and topping with chicken. (Like I mentioned above, I forgot the butter and I didn't miss it. We were also quite hungry As you wish.)

I served this with a side of boiled small potatoes, unpeeled, but cut in half, and then stirred with melted butter, salt, pepper, and parsley.

Out of the two pans in the oven, the one on the top rack got the skin crispy, but the chicken on the bottom, closer to the heating element was juicier. This could have been a difference in pans or the amount of liquid in them.

Regardless, everything was delicious, though I'm afraid it went unphotographed. Perhaps I will update when I have some of the leftovers. 

Comments or questions? Woudl love to hear from you.