This is a classic of French cuisine and remarkably easy - though time and a some vegetable chopping are required- and guaranteed to impress your guests. Extra marks for being a one pot comfort meal.
Taste: amazing!
Replacements
- Use lard to fry the chicken pieces instead of bacon
Tips
- Use a fairly light red wine
- More thyme than you think
- I cook both chicken legs and breaths to keep the peace in the household. To avoid overcooking the breast, I add them to the pot only at the last possible step.
- you can skip the flour if you can live with a thinner sauce
- Bagaço/grappa can be used instead of brandy.
- I you want to keep it paleo-ish, add more carrots.
Source
I took inspiration from this recipe as inspiration, but simplified it a bit.
- Servings: 8
- Prep Time: 45 mins
- Cooking Time: 1 hours
- Total Time: 1 hours and 45 mins
Ingredients
- Chicken: 5 legs (with thighs) and 2 breasts
- Bacon: 125 grams, cut in match-thick stripes
- Red wine: 1 bottle
- Shallots: 6, cut in half if large (or 10 small ones)
- Mushrooms, 500 grams, quartered
- Garlic cloves: 2 sliced
- Chicken stock: 500 ml
- carrots: 6, cut in large chunks
- Thyme: 6 sprigs
- Parsley: 2 stalks
- Bay leaves: 2
- Brandy, 2 tbsp
- Flour, 2 tbsp
- butter, 3 tbsp
- Sea salt: to taste
- Black pepper: to taste, about 1 tbsp
Directions
- Heat a large pot on medium (medium high), and melt 1-2 tablespoons of butter it.
- Throw the bacon slices and fry until golden. Remove them and keep them in a bowl.
- Fry the chicken thighs (not the breasts), until the skin is golden brown, in several batches if needed. If there is not enough fat, add that extra tbsp of butter. Remove to a bowl.
- Add the Shallots, carrots and garlic to the pot and fry until the garlic is translucent in the remaining fat. Add the mushrooms and fry for about 5 minutes (so save some time, the mushrooms can be sauteed separately and added to the pot at this stage).
- Return the bacon and the chicken, including the breasts, coat with the flower, cooking for a couple of minutes. Add the brandy and light it up for extra wow effect (be careful).
- Nestle the herbs in between the meat, add the wine and the stock until meat is fully covered.
- Bring a boil and simmer for 40-60 minutes until the chicken is tender.
- To reduce the sauce, remove the chicken from the pot, or strain the whole thing, and heat up the pot until the liquid starts boiling. Stop when you think it is thick enough for you - it won’t be too thick so I usually do it for 10 minutes.
- Serve with bread / rice / boiled potatoes.
- Enjoy!