One of my favorite French recipes is Poulet au Pot - chicken in a pot, simmered in broth until it falls off the bone. This is my weeknight version, when I need to get dinner on the table with as little actual work as possible. A pack of chicken legs, some dried herbs, and a half cup of water, and I have dinner on the table in about an hour, with most of the time spent staring at the pressure cooker. 1
Now, when I said “the least amount of work possible”, there is one part of this recipe that takes a little work - browning the legs. You can skip this step, but I don’t recommend it. Browning makes the skin taste much better, the browned bits on the bottom of the pot make a rich sauce, and browning renders some of the fat in chicken legs. It’s worth the extra 15 minutes.
For those of you asking “can I substitute chicken breast?” - eh, if you insist, but chicken legs are perfect for this recipe. I’ve said before, I’m a fan of the dark side of the chicken. 2 Chicken legs are best when they’re fall off the bone tender; chicken breast is overcooked and a little stringy. (Also, chicken legs are shockingly cheap when I can get them on sale at my grocery store.)
Video
Recipe: Pressure Cooker Chicken Legs with Herb Rub
PrintPressure Cooker Chicken Legs with Herb Rub
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 chicken legs 1x
Description
Pressure Cooker Chicken Legs with Herb Rub recipe - hands off chicken legs with pan sauce from the pressure cooker.
Ingredients
- 6 chicken legs (aka “chicken leg quarters”)
- 3 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt (½ teaspoon per leg)
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried Italian Seasoning (¼ teaspoon per leg)
- ¾ teaspoons garlic powder (⅛ teaspoon per leg)
- ¾ teaspoons fresh ground black pepper (⅛ teaspoon per leg)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ½ cup water (or chicken broth)
Instructions
- Season and brown the chicken legs: Sprinkle the chicken legs evenly with the salt, Italian Seasoning, garlic powder, and fresh ground black pepper. Heat a tablespoon of oil in the pressure cooker over medium heat (sauté mode in an electric pressure cooker) until shimmering. Brown the skin side of the chicken legs in batches - each leg should lay flat in the pot. In my 6 quart Instant Pot, I can fit two legs in the pot, skin side down. Cook each set of legs until the skin is browned, about 4 minutes. Move the browned legs to a bowl, then repeat with the remaining legs. Pour the chicken fat out of the pot.
- Pressure cook the chicken legs: Pour ½ cup of water into the pressure cooker pot. Over medium heat (or sauté mode), bring the water to a simmer, scraping any browned bits on the bottom of the pan into the liquid. Once all the browned bits are scraped up, add the chicken legs and any chicken juices in the bowl. Lock the lid and pressure cook on high for 30 minutes in an electric pressure cooker, 25 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down naturally, about 15 more minutes. Serve, passing the liquid in the pot on the side as a sauce.
Equipment
Notes
If you have the time, de-fat the sauce. Pour the liquid from the pot into a fat separator and let it rest for a few minutes, so the fat floats to the top. Then, pour the de-fatted sauce into a serving bowl.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
Pressure Cooker Chicken Broth and Shredded Chicken
Pressure Cooker Chicken Stew
Pressure Cooker Chicken Tacos - Tinga de Pollo
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes
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Mich
Easy to make
22 Cowboy
Really like this one, though it seems like my IP takes quite awhile to brown the thighs.
Debi Yakel
I just got an instant pot a couple weeks ago, so far I’ve only done a pork roast. I’m planning to do these leg quarters tomorrow. I have 10lbs frozen that I need to thaw. I usually get on average 7legquarters . My husband works at a chicken processing plant and they give us 10lbs of them every once in a while.
I’m looking forward to seeing if they turn out
Jeanette
YUM! Just got a multi-pot and this recipe is the first thing I made with it! Thanks for both the level of detail in the recipe and for responding to people's questions, as both were helpful in my first pressure cooking adventure. All of the instructions that came with my cooker (Mueller) showed less time for chicken, so I tried the 25 minute built-in option, and it was perfectly juicy, tender, and cooked all the way through. I also skipped the fat separation step, and as others mentioned, it still came out great. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
Rebekah
My 7 yes is such a picky eater. He gobbled this right up. Thank you so much for sharing!
carolyn
very tasty, fast and easy
Sandra Krcmar
You are awesome! This is awesome! Love the vid!
Hope Elliott
I am currently browning my chicken in my IP to make this recipe for the 2nd time now! I just wanted to let you know this dish is a hit in my home and to thank you for sharing it with us!
Mike Vrobel
You’re welcome!
angiesrecipes
Awesome! I can't wait to give this a try since I adore the dark side of the chicken too.
Anna Davis
Thank you! My son loved. I did add more water in the pressure cooker for gravy.
It was very good.
Deb O.
Surprisingly tasty considering how easy it is to make!
Marilyn
I am new to IP cooking. I followed cooking directions and it had to be the best chicken legs/thighs we have had. Fiance raved. He ate 2 legs and 2 thighs. This is a keeper!! Thank you.
Michelle
Wonderful recipe! Turned out better than I hoped!
matsugirl
I followed your cooking direction for 5 leg quarters. I used my 8 qt instant pot and used chicken seasoning that came with our BBQ. When chicken was ready, I put on BBQ cooking tray, brushed BBQ sauce on the leg quarters. Put on the BBQ to carmalized the sauce. Delicous flavor and meat falling off the bones. Soooooo good!
tc
Six chicken legs? Absurd. This is more than worthy of leftovers. Fill it to your pot's max. Nom nom nom.