Chicken in Vinegar
- Serves: 4
- Active Time: 50 mins
- Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins
- Views: 35,604
- Success Rating: 90% (?)
Steps
Step 1: Preparing Your Mise en Place
• 1 head garlic• 1 cup red wine vinegar (250 ml)
• 1 lb tomatoes (500 g)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• few sprigs of thyme
• 1 cup chicken stock (250 ml)
Method
To prepare your mise en place, first break up the garlic into unpeeled cloves and roughly chop the tomatoes. Measure the tomato paste, red wine vinegar and chicken stock. Gather the bouquet garni (bay leaf and thyme) and set aside.
Step 2: Preparing and Browning the Chicken
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter• kosher salt (to taste)
• freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
• 1 whole chicken (3.5 lb/1.6 kg)
Method
Prepare the chicken by cutting it into 8 or 10 pieces.
To cook the chicken, first season it with salt and pepper. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and add the butter. Once the butter foams, add a few pieces of chicken at a time to brown it well on all sides. You’re not cooking the chicken here; just making the skin crisp and giving it color, so 5 minutes per side is about right. Transfer to a plate, once done.
Step 3: Starting the Sauce
Method
To start the sauce, add the garlic to the pan and cook for about 10 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the vinegar and bring to a boil. Reduce it by half. This may take about 10 to 15 minutes.
Step 4: Cooking the Chicken
Method
Return the chicken to the pan. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and bouquet garni. Simmer, uncovered, until the meat falls from the bone, about 30 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a dish, cover, and keep warm.
Step 5: Reducing & Straining the Sauce
Method
Pour the stock into the pan juices and boil until thickened, about 10 minutes. Strain into a saucepan, and if it’s still not concentrated enough for your liking, boil it down a little more.
Step 6: Finishing the Dish
• 10 to 15 parsley stems• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• kosher salt (to taste)
• freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
Method
Whisk in the remaining tablespoon of butter. Season to taste. Pour over the chicken and sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley.
This dish pairs well with a bowl of roasted or mashed potatoes on the side.
Chef's Notes
- by Laura Calder
- •
- May 2, 2008
This recipe is from “French Food at Home”, which is Laura Calder’s most recent cookbook.
9 Comments
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I made this dish today, loved the result and the sauce was wonderful. I served the chicken over dressed baby greens and as a side, potatoes mashed with butter, s&p, sour cream and lots of chives. I found that the chicken wasn't done after 30 min so continued to simmer it for another 15 min or so. This was probably because all of the pieces were not uniform size. This dish is time consuming but worth it. tara -
If you like this one as it has a definite vinegar flavor, you'd probably like this one: http://www.rouxbe.com/recipes/130/preview -
Thanks for your suggestion. This looks yummy. I like to makes dishes that are popular in other countries. Once I get the sambol oelek, I'll try this dish.
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Wow, first post here in 4 years. This was too good to have such little traffic. Thanks for the recipe! -
This dish was easy and tasted great. Some thoughts: for a new cook there should be a link to "the easy way to peel tomatoes", I think next time I will add minced garlic to the sauce for added flavor. -
This recipe is a keeper. I really enjoyed making and eating this dish! -
Rouxbe Staff
Oh great! We are thrilled that you enjoyed this preparation. It's a great technique - reducing vinegar and building a balanced sauce. Cheers! -
Should I be looking for a good quality red wine Vinegar for this dish or a medium quality would work? Would sherry Vinegar be too strong? -
Rouxbe Staff
Hi Omar - A midrange vinegar is great in this sort of application. Red wine or sherry would both be good - try the sherry! I bet the nutty richness adds a nice complexity to the dish. ~Ken
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