Cajun Chicken, Sausage & Corn Stew

Taken from The Best Slow & Easy Recipes by the Editors of Cook's Illustrated, 2008.

This homey dish is usually served with a crusty, rustic loaf of bread to help sop up the sauce and plenty of hot sauce; you can also serve this over plain baked rice. We just ate it straight up.

6 ears corn, husks and silk removed (we used frozen kernels instead)
3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (8 to 10 thighs), trimmed
salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound kielbasa sausage, sliced 1/4 inch thick (we used turkey kielbasa)
2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 medium onion, minced
2 celery ribs, minced
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 4 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried
3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, minced

1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 300 degrees. Working with one ear of corn at a time, stand the corn on end inside a large bowl. Use a paring knife to cut the kernels off the cob. Using the back of a butter knife, scrape any remaining pulp off the cob and into the bowl. Discard the cobs.

2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half of the chicken and brown on both sides, 5 to 8 minutes, reducing the heat if the pot begins to scorch. Transfer the chicken to a medium bowl. Repeat with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the remaining chicken; transfer to the bowl. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin.

3. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat left in the pot. Add the kielbasa and cook over medium heat until it begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in the peppers, onions, celery, cayenne, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until the vegetables are softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the corn, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in the broth and bring to a simmer.

4. Add the chicken with any accumulated juices and the bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Cover, place the pot in the oven, and cook until the chicken is very tender but not quite falling off the bone, about 1 1/4 hours.

5. Remove the pot from the oven, transfer the chicken to a cutting board, and remove the bay leaves. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones and shred into large pieces; discard the bones.

6. If the sauce is too thin, continue to simmer the stew over medium-high heat as needed to thicken. Off the heat, stir in the shredded chicken, cover, and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.