Frying Chicken Supremes

Our answer

Nigella's Chicken With Red Grapes And Marsala (from AT MY TABLE) starts by frying the chicken supremes skin-side down for around 5 minutes. This helps to put some colour on the skin and also starts to render the fat, so that the skin will crisp up in the oven despite some liquid being in the cooking pan. You could try cooking the chicken in the oven without frying it first, but we suspect the skin would not be quite as alluring. It may also need longer in the oven, which could dry out the other ingredients.

If the chicken skin has stuck to the pan it is usually due to one of two reasons. The first is that the oil in the pan may not have been hot enough to sear the skin quickly. You need to make sure that it is hot enough to shimmer, but not smoke, before you add the chicken. You may need to turn the heat down very slightly once the chicken has gone into the pan to prevent scorching. Second, the chicken may need another minute or so if it has not seared quite enough - it should release once the skin has become golden. It can help to make sure that the chicken skin is coated properly in the oil as it goes into the pan. The recipe uses 1 tablespoon of oil, which should be sufficient to cook the chicken but without too much spattering.