Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole Recipe
By
Regan Burns
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My mother made a version of this while I was growing up—though it was a mishmash of packaged Success rice mix and frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts from Sam’s Club, “baked” in the microwave. There’s a part of me that shudders when I think of it, but the combination of flavors and textures is pure comfort, so I decided to give it a makeover.
What to buy: Dried porcini mushrooms and Arborio rice can be found in gourmet markets and higher-end grocery stores. If you can’t find Arborio, any white rice will do.
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
- 3/4 cup boiling water
- 1/3 cup uncooked wild rice
- 6 chicken thighs with skin
- 6 chicken drumsticks with skin
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/4 stick)
- 1/2 large red onion, small dice
- 1 large celery stalk, medium dice
- 1 medium carrot, peeled, medium dice
- 3/4 cup uncooked Arborio rice
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, minced
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream or half-and-half
- 2 tablespoons dry sherry
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Place mushrooms in a small heatproof bowl. Pour the boiling water over them and set aside.
- Place wild rice in a small saucepan and add enough cold water to cover by 3 inches. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cover the pan, leaving the lid slightly ajar; reduce heat; and simmer until rice is almost completely cooked, about 18 to 20 minutes. (The rice will be chewy and swollen with a slightly burst-open appearance.) Drain in a colander and set aside.
- While the wild rice simmers, blot the chicken thighs and drumsticks dry with a paper towel and season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch frying pan over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken in three batches until golden brown (the chicken will not be fully cooked), about 5 minutes per side, and set aside. Remove the pan from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the chicken fat from the pan.
- Using a fork, transfer the porcinis to a cutting board (be careful not to disturb the gritty sediment on the bottom of the bowl) and coarsely chop; set aside. Leaving the sediment behind, slowly pour 1/3 cup of the soaking liquid into a measuring cup and set aside. Discard the remaining liquid.
- Return the frying pan to the stove over medium heat and melt the butter. When it foams, add the onion and a generous pinch of salt. Stir to coat the onion with butter and cook until the onion has softened a bit, about 2 minutes, then stir in the celery and carrot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are slightly softened but still uncooked in the center, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Stir in the Arborio rice, mixing well with a wooden spoon or spatula to coat each grain with oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the outer layer of the rice becomes translucent and is just beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the wine and stir until it evaporates, about 1 minute. Add the chopped porcini mushrooms with their soaking liquid and stir until the liquid is almost completely evaporated, about 1 minute.
- Stir in the cooked wild rice and the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring often, until the mixture is slightly thickened and the Arborio rice is about halfway cooked, about 5 minutes (the mixture will be very soupy). Stir in the thyme, cream, and sherry, then remove from heat. Taste and if necessary season with more salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Pour the mixture into a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Place the chicken pieces over the mixture, nestling them close to each other so they will all fit in the dish.
- Bake the casserole until the rice is tender and has absorbed most of the liquid and the chicken is completely cooked, about 45 to 50 minutes. To serve, place a scoop of rice mixture on a serving plate and top with a drumstick and thigh.
Beverage pairing: La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, California. Chicken, mushrooms, and cream just beg for a good, cool-climate Chardonnay. This one garnishes the flavors in the dish with a touch of lemon and pear.
This is fantastic. I made it last night for dinner and while it was a bit labour intensive I will definitely do it again. I did have to make a substitution or two based on availability but don't think it altered the results much. I had skinless bone-in breasts (4) and regular chicken broth not low sodium so I omitted all salt except to season the chicken. I also couldn't find plain wild rice so I used a blend of wild and mahogany rice which had a longer cooking time. Except for those substitutions I followed the recipe as written. Prep time was just over an hour, so no need to pre-heat the oven at step number 1. When you want some comfort food and have some time to spend in the kitchen I highly recommend this dish.
Thanks a bunch for this recipe, so delicious, you won't leave a grain on your dish.
My Mother's version of wild rice casserole had Jimmy Dean's Sausage and cream of muchroom and chicken along with velveeta cheese. Thanks for posting an update. I look foward to trying this!
Oh my god. Starving now, thanks!
I like to make a lot of casseroles ahead of time, save them for later and just pull them out and bake 'em when I need something fast and easy. Anyone tried that with this? I was wondering about the rice - if it would still cook as well after having been refrigerated. Thanks!
Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole is too much easy recipe. Really i liked this recipe so much and will also want to make it in home.I believe it will be too much tasty in eating and HAPPY NEW YEAR.
This was so friggin good. I used a whole cup of white burgundy wine , brown rice, and some crimini mushrooms, and my family went nuts over this. My family doesn't normally go for casseroles but this was awesome.
This looks terrific, I am going to make this tonight with brown and wild rice.
I'm not a foodie or even an especially good cook, but I make a version of this all the time.
I buy a whole chicken and cut it up. One time I'll make it with the whole breast, another time with all the other parts.
I always brown the chicken, white or dark meat and de-glaze (with way more sherry :p) then cook it down before adding butter and the vegetables.
I use celery, red onion and garlic, but mushrooms sound like a good addition. And I've always just used 'regular' long-grain white rice....maybe I should experiment. I also add raisins after the rice is coated with oil.
The biggest difference for me is that I then finish mine on the stove-top in the same lidded frying pan I browned the chicken in.
Pour in the stock, give it a stir, add the chicken back, lower the flame as much as possible, cover and come back in exactly one hour.
Dinner is served. ...Wait any longer than that and my dog's eating burned rice off the bottom of the pan.
This sounds interesting. I think I'd be more likely to do the rice on the stovetop and serve with meat from a whole chicken. I have no problem with dark meat but I have a general horror of chicken skin on my plate and I don't care for meat on the bone. That might cut down on the fat content, too.
Also was wondering if I'm going to be using the chicken breasts should I bake the casserole for about 20 minutes first and then add the chicken to ensure that all of the liquid is absorbed?
If I was going to use chicken breasts instead, should I still brown them, or should I skip that step?
I'm also a fan of the white meat...
AMFM,
If you use bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, you won't need to adjust the instructions, if you want to use boneless, skinless chicken, you will just need to bake the casserole for a shorter time, start checking to see if the chicken is cooked through after 20 minutes. Let us know the results!
any way to adjust to chicken breasts? i know that dark meat is more hip these days but it's not even for health but i just like the taste of white meat better.
I made this dish last night and it turned out excellent. My grocery store did not have dried porcinis so I just sliced up fresh mushrooms and added them to the mix. Also, I had some asparagus in the fridge that HAD to get used, so I chopped it up and threw it in as well. There were no consistency problems with either substitution/addition... I'm looking forward to the leftovers tonight.
I tried this recipe a couple of weeks ago. I did all the work, but it was totally worth it! Just take your time on a sunday afternoon, one step after another, sipping wine or beer, and it almost makes itself! The creamy texture of the risotto-like rice mix is absolutely incredible.
Smonkey, I thought the same thing while I was eating it, but didn't have the heart to say so after my wife had just done so much work!
This looks really good - I wish it looked a little less time-consuming. It reminds me of my favorite comfort dish from growing up - chicken and rice casserole made from stirring together white rice, cream of mushroom, cream of celery, cream of chicken soups, topping it with chicken breasts and baking... I hope to try this grown-up version soon.
We tried this one at my house on Sunday evening, and it was very, very good! My wife did the work, and she did comment that it was a *lot* of work, but she also felt like it was worth it. Very good, thanks!
Thank you so much for this great recipe. I have been fighting some kind of bug for the past week, and am dying to try this.
I really liked the clean format...