Chicken rice with buttered onions

Over the last few years, and particularly during those long months of 2020, we got really into variations on “chicken rice” — chicken and rice cooked together in an aromatic broth that together is the most cozy, comforting thing. The rice is crazy flavorful, drinking up any seasonings and/or vegetables you add to the pan. The chicken is tender and juicy. The dish keeps well even if I’m making it many hours earlier than dinner and the leftovers are phenomenal. It’s relatively inexpensive and I’ve almost always got at least the rice and various pantry items around to make it work. It should run for president.

Ingredients:

• 2 to 2 1/4 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (4 to 6)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 1/2 pounds (3 large) yellow onions, diced into just shy of 1/2″ pieces
• Leaves stripped from a few sprigs of thyme
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice, any variety
• 1/4 cup white wine (optional)
• 1 3/4 to 2 cups chicken broth