Chicken Armenian Recipe

This is a pretty simple chicken recipe. It is a recipe I found in my early days of marriage, you know, back in those days when you are figuring out what will be the staple ingredients in your husband's and your kitchen. Things aren't the same as your mom's kitchen any more, and you have to learn your husband's tastes and figure out your(plural) "go-to" meals.

Anyway, this recipe is really tasty and uses cheap ingredients, but dresses up really well and would make a good company dish.

The chicken pieces get browned in a skillet before being transferred to a baking tray.

The recipe calls for two fryer chickens cut into pieces, but I use chicken legs or thighs. A lot of the time I use a package of chicken quarters and then cut them into leg and thigh pieces.

The sauce is poured over the chicken and then it goes in the oven to bake.

Chicken Armenian Recipe

1/4 to 1/3 cup butter
2 broiler-fryer chickens (about 2 1/3 pound each)  cut in 4 pieces
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic (I use at least 3) minced
1 1/2 cups tomato juice
2 TBS. wine vinegar
1 tsp. paprika
1 1/4 tsp. salt
Pepper to taste

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a large frying pan and fry the chickens on both sides until light brown. Place skin side down, side by side, in a large shallow baking pan or broiler pan.

Fry the onions in the remaining butter, adding more if necessary, until limp and golden; add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, and paprika to the pan; and heat just to the boiling point. Pour over the chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake uncovered in a 400° F. oven for 45 minutes or until light reddish-brown, turning the chicken at the end of the first 20 minutes. Baste with pan juices several times during the last 25 minutes of cooking. 

Serve with rice if desired, spooning some of the pan juices over the chicken and rice.
Enjoy!