First thing, grab a bowl and season your flour. Flour, garlic powder, onion powder, celery seed, thyme, sage, black pepper, and salt. I don’t measure too carefully here. I just make sure it smells good. Stir it up so everything’s mixed evenly.

Pat your chicken dry this part actually matters. Then dredge each piece in the seasoned flour. Get into the little folds and corners. Shake off the extra and set the chicken aside. And don’t toss that flour. You’ll want it later.

Heat some oil in a big skillet over medium heat. Cast iron is great, but whatever heavy pan you have will work. Add the chicken in batches if you need to. Don’t crowd it. Let it brown. And I mean really brown. This is where flavor starts, so don’t rush it. You’re not cooking it through yet just getting color. Once both sides look good, pull the chicken out and set it on a plate.

Same pan, same heat. Toss in your onions. They’ll soak up all that leftover goodness from the chicken. Let them cook until they’re soft and starting to turn golden. Stir in the garlic and give it about a minute. Any longer and it can burn, which… yeah, not great. Scoop the onions and garlic out and set them aside too.

Now look at your skillet. There’s probably a good bit of oil left. Pour off about half eyeballing is fine. Sprinkle in about three tablespoons of that reserved seasoned flour and stir constantly. This part always makes me a little nervous, even though I’ve done it a hundred times. Just keep stirring and let it cook until it turns lightly golden.

Slowly pour in your broth while stirring. Slowly matters here unless you enjoy chasing lumps around the pan. I usually use mostly chicken broth with a splash of beef broth, but all chicken works too. Let it thicken, then add the butter and watch it melt into the gravy.

Once it’s smooth, stir in a little cream or milk not a ton, just enough to soften it. Drop in the bay leaf and let the gravy simmer for a few minutes. Taste it. Adjust salt and pepper if needed. This is your moment.

Add the onions and garlic back in, then nestle the chicken pieces into the gravy. Spoon some over the top so everything’s coated. Cover the skillet, turn the heat down low, and let it simmer. Twenty to thirty minutes usually does it. The chicken should be tender and cooked through, and the gravy will have thickened up nicely.

Before serving, pull out the bay leaf and sprinkle a little parsley over the top if you feel like it.