Creamy Sherry and Thyme Chicken Thighs

I love these single skillet recipes. They’re not quite as simple as an all in one slow cooker recipe where, basically, all ingredients are thrown in together and, 6 hours later you have a wonderful casserole. There is a little more skill required when cooking with a skillet. However, as long as the timing is mastered the results can be fantastic.

These creamy sherry and thyme chicken thighs are a great example of skillet cooking. Look at these beauties. Mouthwatering right…

What’s also good about this creamy sherry and thyme chicken thigh recipe is that there are a number of cooking stages it. However, each stage does not require specific temperatures to be kept, or ninja-like reactions between each stage. For those of you a little unsure about making reduction cream sauces, therefore, this is a great learning recipe.

What’s more, I’ll help you…

1. A word about the pan

You’ll see from all of the photographs that I have used a medium-sized skillet for this recipe, and by skillet, I mean a 100% metal pan. There are a number of different definitions of what constitutes a skillet, especially across different countries. However, I define a skillet as a pan that is used for frying (compared to a saucepan) and that is ovenproof i.e. can be placed in the oven at a high temperature

I mention this because, although I have used a skillet for this recipe, all the cooking is done on the stove. Further, I know that many of you may not have 100% metal pans at home. To avoid any confusion, therefore, a wooden or plastic handled frying pan, providing the sides are high enough, can also be used for this recipe.

2. Prepare the chicken thighs

When I bought the chicken thighs for this recipe I bought them whole. By this, I mean with the skin on and bone in.

The recipe calls for clean chicken thighs, or thighs with the skin removed and the bone out. My local butcher could have done this for me but I am happy to do this myself.

If you are uncomfortable with preparing the chicken thighs yourself then simply ask your butcher to do this. Preparation, however, is simple. The skin just pulls off and, if you want to have a go at removing the bone, just follow this very good instructional video that I found on YouTube…

With the skin off and the bone removed just trim any remaining fat. The chicken thighs are now cleaned.

3. Gather all other ingredients together and prepare

With the chicken thighs cleaned the remaining ingredients need to be prepared.

Preparation is fairly simple. Just slice the mushrooms, finely chop the shallots and garlic, roughly chop the thyme and grate the parmesan. Easy.

The full list of ingredients and measurements are listed in the printable recipe below. This serves 2 and assumes 2 chicken thighs per person. Just scale up or down depending on how many you are catering for and how hungry you feel.

4. Partially cook the chicken thighs

The start of the cooking process only involves the chicken thighs. These need to be browned off and partially cooked.

First, season the chicken thighs and heat the oil in the skillet over a medium to hot heat. Once at hot add the thighs to the skillet.

Cook each side for 5-6 minutes in total and until brown. Turn the thighs every couple of minutes and be careful not to burn them.

Once browned remove the thighs from the pan and set aside for now.

5. Make the base sauce

Using the same pan add the shallots and mushrooms.

Keep stirring until the mushrooms start to colour and soften.

Now, add the sherry and let this reduce in volume by half. This shouldn’t take much more than a minute or two. Stir the skillet occasionally.

With the sherry reduced add the white wine and reduce this, also by half.

Now, add the chicken stock, the garlic, mustard and 3/4 of the thyme and mix in.

Finally, add the cream and add the chicken back to the skillet. Lower the heat such that the sauce lightly bubbles (not like that below ????????).

6. Finish off the creamy sherry and thyme chicken thighs

To finish off the creamy sherry and thyme chicken thighs the sauce needs to thicken and the cheese needs to be added.

The thickening is done by reducing the sauce. There is a risk, however, that the sauce reduces too quickly and runs dry. By keeping the heat low, but still hot enough for the sauce to lightly bubble, the sauce can reduce slowly and allow the thickness to be gauged easily. Simply reduce until the sauce is as thick as you like. Once at the required thickness, season to taste and add the grated parmesan cheese.

And that’s all there is to it my fine foodie friends. Creamy sherry and thyme chicken thighs. An absolutely delicious recipe. Great for dinner parties and entertaining your friends. Serve with rice or seasonal vegetables and I’m sure your guests will be crying out for seconds… Yum!

I do hope you enjoyed this post. I’ve added a selection of other great recipes from The Yum Yum Club below for your viewing pleasure. If you’d like to be kept up to date on all new recipes then just sign up to the newsletter at the top of this page. Otherwise, you can follow us on Facebook or Pinterest by clicking the link.

As always, many thanks for reading and until next time… Steve.

Nutritional values

Printable recipe