This is an amazing dish. I took Hubert Keller’s recipe and modified it. (I really love him, just from TV, but you can tell he’s amazing!) You can go online and get his really awesome recipe. I don’t seem to be able to follow anyone’s recipe (to the letter, I mean); so, here’s how I did it. BTW (by the way), Gary gave it a 9.9! Never in 21 years has he done that! So maybe you should try this one! A really good dish, and not that difficult. Just need to plan ahead. Here goes:
Ingredients: 1 whole chicken (cut into 8 pieces, skin on), 3 carrots (peeled and roughly chopped), 3 stalks of celery (roughly chopped), 5 cloves of garlic (peeled), 2 bay leaves (fresh, if possible), 2 sprigs of thyme (I used what I have in the garden … lemon thyme), 2 sprigs of parsley, 1 bottle of Pinot Noir (I used a cab that was on sale at Kroger’s), 1 tsp salt (right….), 1/2 tsp pepper (ditto), 5 pieces of bacon ( cut into 1/2 inch pieces), 1 cup flour, extra grape seed oil ( as needed), 1/2 pound (or so) of button mushrooms, 1 TBS olive oil, 3 TBS tomato paste (I used the entire can, and it worked awesome), 2 cups chicken stock (I make chicken stock from the back of the chicken used in this recipe, use amount you need to make it work), 2 TBS butter, salt/pepper to taste, cornstarch as necessary to thicken, chives or chopped scallions for garnish. — sounds like a lot, but man is it worth it!
Directions: Chop your chicken, carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Put in a large bowl. Tie the bay leaves, thyme and parsley together with twine, and add to bowl. Pour the wine over the chicken and vegetables so that they are completely covered, and refrigerate for 24 hours. Time passes …
Place the bacon in a large casserole dish (I used a dutch oven) and cook over medium high heat until crisp. Remove the bacon to a paper towel to drain, and reserve. Add the mushrooms to the pan, and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until just slightly ender. Remove from fat and set aside. Time to get the bowl of chicken and veggie’s from the frig.
Remove the chicken pieces from the wine, and pat dry. Dredge lightly in flour and place in pan with bacon fat, skin side down, until well-browned (I needed to add more oil). Strain the vegetables from the wine, reserving the liquid. Sear in bacon fat for about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste (I used the entire can). Add the chicken back to the pot and pour the marinating liquid over the chicken and vegetables. Add the chicken stock, making sure that all meat and vegetables are completely submerged in liquid. Bring to a simmer and cook 45 minutes to an hour.
Remove the chicken from the pan, and set aside. Strain out the vegetables from the liquid, and set aside. Return the cooking liquid to the pan and reduce by half, 5-10 minutes (or until thickened).
Meanwhile, place the butter, pearl onions, brown sugar, 1/2 cup water, salt and pepper in a 10″ skillet and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer 10 minutes, or until tender. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and 1/4 cup water. When the sauce has finished reducing, whisk in the cornstarch mixture 1 TBS at a time until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. (I skipped these steps and just added the butter to pot.)
Place the chicken, vegetables, mushrooms, bacon and pearl onions back in the sauce and serve. Top with chopped chives (I used chopped green onions.) I served with egg noodles. Best chicken ever!
Cooking to Eat Well 