Beer Braised Chicken Thighs in Hoisin Sauce with Shiitake Mushrooms

This is really easy to make, quite tasty, and not all that healthy--although if you"re worried about the bacon grease, you can substitute some vegetable oil instead. I would use either sesame or peanut oil, but olive oil works just as well. So:

Ingredients--

• Six chicken thighs (with skin).
• 2 strips bacon.
• 1 small onion (alternately, 4 shallots), coarsely chopped (if you're using the shallots, just quarter them or something).
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed.
• 1/2 tablespoon ginger, crushed or matchsticked.
• 1 handful of shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps cut in half.
• 2 scallions, chopped fine.
• half a lime.
• 1/2 tablespoon chipotle powder.
• salt and pepper.
• 5 tablespoons hoisin sauce.
• 1 bottle of dark beer or stout.

Fry bacon in saucepan till they're crispy, and there's a good amount of grease in the pan. Take bacon out. Season chicken thighs liberally with salt and pepper; brown in bacon grease till golden on both sides. Remove chicken thighs from pan. At medium heat, sautee onion, garlic, and ginger in the grease in the pan until onions start to turn translucent, and garlic gets a bit of caramel color. Add chicken thighs back to the pan, cook for another minute or so, spooning onion / garlic / ginger / bacon grease mixture on the chicken from time to time. Dust with chipotle powder. Sneeze to clear the chipotle powder from your sinuses; remember to face away from the pot, and to cover your mouth and nose.

You're almost done.

Dump the bottle of beer in the pan with the chicken; add some more salt and pepper. Bring beer to a boil, then reduce heat and cover the pan. Go off and read a book or something for a couple of hours.

Come back to the kitchen when you get hungry. Now: smear hoisin sauce in a thin layer on top of the chicken (the top half or so of the chicken should be peeking out of the liquid, which by this point should be more of a thick broth). If you have any hoisin sauce left, stir it into the broth. Dump in the mushrooms, and half of the scallions. Cover the pan back up, and let the whole thing cook for another four minutes.

Serve chicken thighs on a large platter, along with everything in the pot. Sprinkle with the rest of the scallions. Squeeze the lime over the whole thing.

Enjoy with your starchy sauce-absorbing food of choice (white rice or garlic mashed potatoes work well, as would a nice big piece of sourdough bread).