The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (49 page)
Read The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Online
Authors: The Editors at America's Test Kitchen
Tags: #Cooking
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Chicken cacciatore should boast moist meat and a silken, robust sauce. Too often the chicken is dry and the sauce greasy and unbalanced. Using chicken thighs and removing the skin after rendering the fat solved the problems of dry meat, soggy skin, and greasy sauce. Cooking the chicken in a combination of red wine, chicken broth, and diced tomatoes, seasoned with fresh thyme, yielded moist, well-seasoned chicken. The addition of portobello mushrooms gave the braise a meatier flavor and fresh sage, to finish, highlighted our cacciatore’s woodsy notes.
SERVES 4
If your Dutch oven is large enough to hold all the chicken pieces in a single layer without crowding, brown all the pieces at once instead of in batches. The Parmesan cheese rind is optional, but we highly recommend it for the rich, savory flavor it adds to the dish. An equal amount of minced fresh rosemary can be substituted for the sage.
8 | (5- to 7-ounce) bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed |
Salt and pepper | |
1 | teaspoon olive oil |
1 | onion, chopped |
3 | medium portobello mushroom caps, cut into ³⁄ |
4 | garlic cloves, minced |
1¹⁄ | tablespoons all-purpose flour |
1¹⁄ | cups dry red wine |
¹⁄ | cup low-sodium chicken broth |
1 | (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained |
2 | teaspoons minced fresh thyme |
1 | Parmesan cheese rind (optional) |
2 | teaspoons minced fresh sage |
1.
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering, about 2 minutes. Add 4 chicken thighs, skin side down, and cook without moving until skin is crisp and well browned, about 5 minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken and brown on second side, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to large plate; brown remaining 4 chicken thighs, transfer to plate, and set aside.
2.
Drain off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pot. Add onion, mushrooms, and ¹⁄
2
teaspoon salt and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove and discard skin. Add garlic to pot and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Add wine, scraping browned bits from bottom of pot. Stir in broth, tomatoes, thyme, cheese rind, if using, ¹⁄
2
teaspoon salt (omit salt if using cheese rind), and pepper to taste. Submerge chicken pieces in liquid and bring to boil; cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until chicken is tender and cooked through, about 45 minutes, turning chicken pieces halfway through cooking. Discard cheese rind, stir in sage, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.
Substitute 3 minced large shallots for onion, 10 ounces white mushrooms, quartered if large, halved if medium, for portobellos, dry white wine for red wine, and 2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon for sage.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Classic chicken chasseur was a preparation designed for freshly killed game birds, where white wine, wild mushrooms, and aromatic herbs helped mask musky, gamy flavors. Hours of gentle stewing transformed the tough flesh into fall-off-the-bone morsels, just as the stewing liquid eventually thickened into a hearty, flavorful sauce. We wanted a streamlined version that would work with chicken bagged at the supermarket—specifically, chicken breasts. We set aside the traditional braising method in favor of searing the chicken pieces in the pan and then roasting them in the oven while we finished the sauce in the skillet. This ensured the chicken was cooked through but not dried out, and the skin became crisp and evenly browned in the same amount of time the sauce needed to thicken. We stayed with the classic chasseur sauce flavors, adding mushrooms, an accent of tomatoes, and a finish of cold butter and fresh herbs, but we also added a hit of flambéed brandy to bring a sweet complexity and elegance to the finished dish.
SERVES 4
If fresh tarragon is unavailable, double the amount of fresh parsley; do not use dried tarragon. Before flambéing, be sure to roll up long shirtsleeves, tie back long hair, and turn off the exhaust fan and any lit burners. Buttered egg noodles or mashed potatoes make a good accompaniment.
4 | (10- to 12-ounce) bone-in split chicken breasts, trimmed |
Salt and pepper | |
2 | tablespoons vegetable oil |
8 | ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced ¹⁄ |
1 | shallot, minced |
3 | tablespoons brandy or cognac |
¹⁄ | cup dry white wine |
3¹⁄ | cups low-sodium chicken broth |
¹⁄ | cup canned diced tomatoes, drained |
3 | tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces and chilled |
1 | tablespoon minced fresh parsley |
1 | tablespoon minced fresh tarragon |
1.
Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 400 degrees. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook without moving until skin is crisp and well browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken and brown on second side, about 5 minutes longer. Place browned chicken, skin side up, on baking sheet and set aside.
2.
Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from skillet. Add mushrooms and cook over medium-high heat until mushrooms start to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add shallot; cook until softened, about 1 minute longer.
3.
Off heat, add brandy and let warm through, about 5 seconds. Wave lit match over skillet to ignite, then shake pan to distribute flames. When flames subside, return skillet to medium-high heat, add wine, and scrape browned bits from bottom of pan. Simmer until reduced to glaze, about 3 minutes.
4.
Add broth and tomatoes and simmer until liquid, mushrooms, and tomatoes measure 1¹⁄
2
cups, about 25 minutes.
5.
While sauce simmers, place chicken in oven. Cook until chicken registers 160 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer chicken pieces to serving platter and tent loosely with aluminum foil.
6.
When sauce is properly reduced, whisk in butter, 1 piece at a time, until melted and incorporated. Add parsley and tarragon and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon sauce over chicken and serve immediately.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Chicken Provençal represents the best of rustic peasant food—bone-in chicken simmered all day in a tomatoey, garlicky herb broth that is flavorful enough to mop up with thick slices of crusty bread. To achieve our ideal, we started with bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and browned them in olive oil to develop rich flavor and leave behind browned bits in the pan. To keep the sauce from becoming greasy, we spooned off the excess fat left behind, but left a tablespoon to sauté our garlic and onion. Diced tomatoes, white wine, and chicken broth also went into the sauce before we braised the browned chicken; minced anchovy made it taste richer and fuller. We seasoned the dish with fresh herbs in addition to the traditional herbes de Provence, as well as with grated lemon zest and pitted niçoise olives, for a chicken Provençal with authentic, long-simmered flavor.
SERVES 4
This dish is often served with rice or slices of crusty bread, but soft polenta is also a good accompaniment. Be sure to use niçoise olives here; other olives are too potent.
8 | (5- to 7-ounce) bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed |
Salt | |
1 | tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil |
1 | small onion, chopped fine |
6 | garlic cloves, minced |
1 | anchovy fillet, rinsed and minced |
¹⁄ | teaspoon cayenne pepper |
1 | cup dry white wine |
1 | (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained |
1 | cup low-sodium chicken broth |
2¹⁄ | tablespoons tomato paste |
1¹⁄ | tablespoons chopped fresh thyme |
1 | teaspoon chopped fresh oregano |
1 | teaspoon herbes de Provence (optional) |
1 | bay leaf |
1¹⁄ | teaspoons grated lemon zest |
¹⁄ | cup niçoise olives, pitted |
1 | tablespoon chopped fresh parsley |
1.
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 300 degrees. Season both sides of chicken with salt. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add 4 chicken thighs, skin side down, and cook without moving until skin is crisp and well browned, about 5 minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken and brown on second side, about 5 minutes longer; transfer to large plate. Repeat with remaining 4 chicken thighs and transfer to plate; set aside. Discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from pot.
2.
Add onion to fat in Dutch oven and cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until browned, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, anchovy, and cayenne; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wine and scrape up browned bits from bottom of pan. Stir in tomatoes, chicken broth, tomato paste, thyme, oregano, herbes de Provence, if using, and bay leaf. Remove and discard skin from chicken thighs, then submerge chicken in liquid and add accumulated chicken juices to pot. Increase heat to high, bring to simmer, cover, and transfer pot to oven; cook until chicken offers no resistance when poked with tip of paring knife but still clings to bones, about 1¹⁄
4
hours.
3.
Using slotted spoon, transfer chicken to serving platter and tent with aluminum foil. Discard bay leaf. Set Dutch oven over high heat, stir in 1 teaspoon lemon zest, bring to boil, and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and reduced to 2 cups, about 5 minutes. Stir in olives and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Meanwhile, mix remaining ¹⁄
2
teaspoon zest with parsley. Spoon sauce over chicken, drizzle chicken with remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil, sprinkle with parsley mixture, and serve.
Add ¹⁄
8
teaspoon saffron threads with wine in step 2. Substitute orange zest for lemon zest and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil for parsley.