Smothered Chicken with Mushrooms

How to make Smothered Chicken with Mushrooms Recipe - Sunday chicken dinner on the farm was often prepared this way.

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:
1 (2-1/2- to 3-pound) frying chicken, cut up
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup whipping cream or milk
Chopped fresh parsley

Method:
Preheat oven to 350F (175C).

Wash chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Pull off any excess fat from chicken. To further reduce caloric count, remove skin.

Sprinkle pieces with salt and pepper. In a large heavy skillet, heat butter and oil over high heat. Add chicken, skin-side down. Brown on 1 side then turn over. Remove from skillet to a shallow casserole, laying chicken in a single layer.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from skillet. Add onion and mushrooms to skillet. Saute over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in flour, then chicken broth, whisking until sauce is thickened. Simmer 3 minutes. Add cream or milk.

Pour sauce over chicken in casserole. Bake, covered, 20 minutes.

Remove cover and continue baking 30 minutes longer or until chicken is tender but not falling apart.  Before serving, spoon off excess surface fat and spoon pan gravy over chicken. Sprinkle with parsley.

Notes:
The chicken pieces are first browned in butter and oil. The thickened sauce starts with the pan drippings and
takes just a couple of minutes to make. Then it is poured over the chicken which finishes its cooking in the oven. The result is chicken that's succulent and juicy, baked beneath a mushroom sauce. When canned soups arrived on the American scene, cooks began using cream of mushroom soup and the taste was never the same!