Poulet au vinaigre
A one-of-a-kind recipe with a distinctive tangy flavor.The poulet au vinaigre (creamy chicken in vinegar sauce) is a bistro classic from the city of Lyon. The dish consists of sauteed chicken cuts cooked in a sauce made with red wine vinegar, white burgundy wine and home-made chicken stock. When the sauce is done, the acidity level is adjusted by adding a generous serve of cream. The result? A one-of-a-kind tangy, creamy chicken recipe. Serve with pilaf rice, macaroni gratin or pan fried green beans.
INGREDIENTS
8 pieces of chicken (breast , legs and thighs)
one chicken liver ( optional)
1 medium sized onion roughly chopped
1 shallot roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp freshly chopped tarragon
1 tbsp tomato paste
400 ml (13.5 fl oz) of liquid cream (heavy whipping or double cream)
500 ml (17 fl oz) of chicken stock
400 ml (13.5 fl oz) of white burgundy wine
200 ml (6.8 fl oz) of red wine vinegar (or tarragon vinegar)
Salt and pepper to season the meat
1 tbsp butter and oil to cook the meat
PROCEDURE
Start by making the white chicken stock (or use good quality stock cubes in water mixed with a few chicken wings half a carrot and half an onion and thyme).
Wash peel and cut the onions, shallot and garlic. Weigh your liquids (wine and cream) and have all the other small ingredients ready. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
To pre-heat the chicken, on a medium heat, add a tablespoon of plain unsalted butter in a large skillet or dutch oven. As soon as the butter foams, add the chicken pieces skin side first and saute on each side until they have light golden color. When done set aside in a dish and cover.
To prepare the sauce, add the onion, garlic and shallots to the pan you used to cook the chicken and leave to cook on low heat for 2 or 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and leave to cook for 30 seconds and then raise the heat to high, before adding the vinegar. Allow to reduce to a syrupy consistency and then add the wine and leave to boil for 1 or 2 minutes. Add the stock and reduce for 10 minutes.
Reduce the heat to low and add the thyme and the tarragon leaves (I used sage in the video). Then add the chicken pieces to the sauce and cook covered for 15 to 20 minutes depending on the size of your chicken pieces.
When the chicken is cooked, remove them from the pan and set aside in a covered dish to keep warm while you finish the sauce.
To finish the sauce, add the cream to the sauce and leave to reduce for 15 minutes or more. The cream needs to be reduced until it reaches napping consistency (as shown in the video).
When the cream is the right consistency, reduce the heat to low, add the chicken pieces back in the pan, cover and wait until the chicken is warmed up enough to be served.
To serve the poulet au vinaigre, you can simply place the pan on the table and allow everyone to help themselves. Or to serve on individual plates, remove the chicken pieces from the sauce and pass the sauce through a sieve. Place the chicken on a serving dish and pour the filtered sauce over. That way you get a smooth sauce without bits of onion, carrot ect.