Microwave Chicken with Sauce Supreme

This is straight out of a 1980s microwave-cooking pamphlet, and it’s the kind of recipe that proves the microwave can do a lot more than reheat coffee. A 2½-pound cut-up chicken cooks fully in 20 to 25 minutes on high, no oven, no skillet, no splatter on the stovetop.

The arrangement matters a lot here. Bone-side up, thickest parts to the outside of the dish. Microwaves cook from the outside in, so putting the densest meat where the energy is strongest gets everything cooking at the same rate. Skip this and you end up with charred edges and raw thigh joints.

The sauce is built from the chicken juices left in the dish after the first round, blended with cream of chicken soup and dried parsley. It’s a clever cheat: you’ve got a built-in pan sauce without having actually used a pan.

Whole pickled onions are the surprise ingredient. They add sharp, briny pops against the creamy sauce that lift the whole dish.

Kitchen Tips

• Use microwave-safe glass or ceramic, never metal. Aluminum throws sparks.
• Cover loosely with parchment or microwave-safe wrap. Trapping steam too tightly steams the chicken into rubbery white meat.
• Test for doneness at the bone with a thermometer. 165°F (74°C) at the thickest part of the thigh is where you want to be.
• Let the chicken rest 5 minutes before saucing. The juices redistribute and don’t all run out into the dish.

Variations

• Swap cream of chicken soup for cream of mushroom for a deeper, earthier sauce.
• Stir 2 tablespoons of dry white wine and a squeeze of lemon into the sauce for brighter flavor.
• Use whole pearl onions in cream sauce in place of pickled onions for a less briny, more classic French-style finish.