This goat cheese fried chicken with cherry tarragon sauce is crispy on the outside with a creamy goat cheese sauce and topped with tarragon tart cherries.
Being productive on a Sunday can be filed under ‘things you don’t want to do after drinking 4 glasses of wine the night before’.
Ginger tried to wake us up 3 times yesterday morning unsuccessfully before I decided around 10:30am my head felt ok enough to finally be upright.
Upright and productive however, are two very different things.
I had a to-do list about a mile long for this past weekend knowing I’ll be away for 4 days at the end of this week and accomplished exactly zero items on it yesterday opting instead to plant more succulents in tin cans for my kitchen window sill and lay in the sun on the front steps.
I gave absolutely no thought to dinner until it became a necessity and then somehow this goat cheese fried chicken happened.
It’s not real fried chicken in that breaded crunchy glory (try this gluten free fried chicken recipe for that) but rather pan-fried until the skin is super crispy.
It was one of those times where you have this vague idea of what you want, take out about 20 things from the fridge not sure what you’re really going to end up using and with every ingredient you add, the dish just morphs into something new.
Most times, that ends up being a hot mess and elicits “sooooo, what made you make this?” kind of comments from confused husbands at the dinner table.
Last night, he told me this could easily be a $28 dish in a restaurant.
I think that makes up for at least 3 unaccomplished to-do list items.
Not bad for a hung over cook.
MORE CRISPY CHICKEN RECIPES TO TRY:
Instant Pot chicken leg quarters
Sheet Pan Piri Piri (Peri Peri) Chicken
Chopped Crispy Citrus Chicken Salad
Apple Butter Roasted Chicken
Goat Cheese Fried Chicken with Cherry Tarragon Sauce
Ingredients
For the Goat Cheese Fried Chicken
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken thighs, bone in and with skin
- 3 tablespoons tapioca flour, you can substitute regular flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- 2 ounces goat cheese
- 1 tablespoon tarragon leaves
For the Cherry Tarragon Sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 10 ounces frozen tart cherries, thawed
- 1 tablespoon chopped tarragon
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
Instructions
For the Goat Cheese Fried Chicken
- Rinse and pat dry chicken thighs.
- Combine the tapioca flour, mustard, salt and pepper in a shallow dish.
- Coat chicken in the mixture and set aside, reserve any extra flour mixture.
- Heat the olive oil and 1/2 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Once hot, add the chicken to the pan skin side down and cook for about 5 minutes until the skin is golden brown and crispy. Flip chicken and cook for another 3-5 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Transfer chicken to a plate and cover.
- Drain or wipe out the skillet, reduce heat to medium and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter to the pan. Once melted, add the chicken broth and goat cheese and whisk together until the goat cheese melts and is incorporated. Add a little bit of the reserved tapioca flour mixture to the pan to thicken the sauce a bit if desired, whisking constantly. Add the tarragon leaves and stir to incorporate.
- Return the chicken to the skillet and coat in the sauce.
- Serve over rice and top with the cherry sauce.
For the Cherry Tarragon Sauce
- Add the olive oil to a small sauce pot over medium-high heat.
- Once hot, add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add the cherries and tarragon to the pot and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
- Add the chia seeds, stir and cook over medium-low heat for about 10-15 minutes until the sauce is reduced and thickened. Turn heat off and let sit until serving, it will thicken further as it cools.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
You’re easily the most innovative, creative food blogger I follow. I LOVE your recipes.
The chicken looks perfectly crisp! And the goat cheese with tart cherries…yum!!!
This sauce!!! Seriously, I love everything about this. Beautiful photography too, friend! :)
It does look like a $28 dish! That sauce looks divine. And don’t get me started on the crispy skin!!!
You should make this again and we can pack it for lunch on our road trip….haha. This looks amazing!
Not only does this dish look beautiful, it includes three of my favorite things – chicken, cherries and goat cheese! Can’t wait to try this!
Wow, that’s amazing. Cherries + goat cheese on fried chicken? Mind-blowing. I must try this.
That crispy skin is amazing!! Totally love this :)
Okay, whoa. This sounds INCREDIBLE. I’m all about goat cheese lately….and fried chicken? Always.
That cherry tarragon sauce is blowin’ my mind! Pinned!
I wish my lazy Sundays turned out yours. I may have eaten popcorn for dinner…
Chicken and cherry sauce.. that sounds fantastic! Looks so good that I am hungry again (though I had dinner only 30 mins ago..)