Shandy Braised Chicken with Mushrooms and Green Olives

Rinse the chicken pieces and pat dry with paper towels. Place on a plate and sprinkle fairly generously all over with kosher salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

On the stove top, set a 6-3/4 quart oval French oven over medium to medium-high heat. When the pot is warmed up, coat the bottom with the canola oil. When the oil is hot and shimmering, place the chicken, skin side down into the pot and let it cook, without moving it, until the skin is nicely browned. This should take about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.

Add onions, garlic, and mushrooms into the pot and cook, stirring, until softened. This should take about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in olives, thyme, the teaspoon of kosher salt, and a few good grinds of fresh black pepper. Then pour in the shandy. Stir to release browned bits from the pan bottom. Let mixture come to a boil, then rest the chicken pieces on top of the mushroom and green olive mixture, taking care to not submerge the chicken skin under the liquid.

Transfer pot to the oven and cook for 35 to 45 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken thighs, until meat is tender and cooked through. Remove pot from oven. With tongs, remove chicken pieces to a roasting pan.

Set pot back on the stove top over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. In a small bowl, whisk together chicken broth and cornstarch then stir it into the boiling liquid. Turn heat down a bit, keeping a very low boil, and let liquid thicken and reduce for about 10 minutes.

While liquid is reducing, move oven rack up under the broiler and turn on the broiler. Place roasting pan with chicken under the broiler and cook until skin is perfectly browned and ultra crispy. Remove from oven.

Stir lemon juice into the liquid in the pot. Then taste and adjust with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Nestle the crispy chicken pieces on top of the mushrooms and green olives and serve immediately. This is really good over rice.