Vinegar Braised Chicken with Onions Recipe
Catherine de Medici
Mother of 3 French
Kings
As far back as the 16th century, Lyon, not Paris, has been the
gastronomical capital of France. It was
then that Catherine de Medici, the Queen Consort of King Henry II, an Italian
noblewoman by birth, brought cooks from Florence to the French court. They prepared dishes from the agricultural
products from the various regions of France. This was revolutionary, combining
the know-how of the Italian cooks with the unmatched produce of France. The resulting regional dishes were elevated
in status because they were, after all, what royalty and the nobility were
eating. The cuisine created in Lyon
represented the crossroads of many regional specialties. A terrific variety of ingredients were available: summer vegetables from
farms in Bresse—to say nothing of its famous chickens—and neighboring
Charolais, game from the Dombes, fish from lakes in Savoy, spring’s first
fruits and vegetables from Drome and Ardeche and of course, the wines of
Beaujolais and the Rhone Valley.
No matter where you travel in
France, you will find Restaurants
aux Lyonnais, serving the
regional cuisine that's made Lyon
famous.
The Lyonnaise
tradition of great food continued into the nineteenth century, when middle
class women, called “Les Meres Lyonnaise” (Lyonnaise Mothers) took up
work as cooks and created a whole vocabulary of new culinary discoveries – all
of which incorporated their regional roots. In 1935, France’s pre-eminent food
critic, Curonsky, called Lyon “the world capital of gastronomy.” To this day, the city has one of the highest
concentrations of restaurants per capita in France and it’s well worth a
visit. Dishes like “Poulet Braise au
Vinaigre” or Vinegar Braised Chicken and Onions, could not be more
Lyonnais. In fact, “Sauce Lyonnais”, one
the backbones of the French saucier’s art, consists of white wine, onions,
vinegar and small bits of meat—usually leftovers. While this recipe adds golden raisins and uses both Red Wine and Balsamic Vinegars, it's heart is still firmly planted in Lyon. It's wonderful, budget-friendly comfort food. You can use whatever chicken parts appeal to
you. As a dark meat lover, I used only
drumsticks and thighs. You could easily
swap out these out for cut-up breasts or a mixture of white and dark meat. The onions I used were those already peeled
and ready to go pearl onions from the frozen food section. They save a great deal of time. And the pancetta “Cubette”, already diced pancetta, are ideal and another
labor saver. At Trader Joe’s, they are particularly well-priced. Here’s what to look for.
This is not a particularly time-consuming meal.
The real effort here involves getting a really good browning on the
chicken. I was dealing with a rather
small Dutch oven so there were more batches to be browned that if I’d used my
bigger Dutch oven. After that it’s just
a matter of a gentle simmer on the stove for 35 to 45 minutes. By the way, you
can easily half the recipe and still get perfect results. Here’s the recipe:
Recipe
for Vinegar Braised Chicken and Onions
Or Poulet Saute au Vinaigre
6 Servings. About 1.5 hours start to finish.
- 2 pounds cipolline or pearl onions
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 ounces pancetta (Italian bacon), cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed
- 5 pounds skin-on bone-in chicken pieces (breasts, thighs,and/or legs; breasts halved crosswise)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1.
Heat oil in
a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add pancetta to pot
and cook,
stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and pancetta is brown, 8-10
minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to a large bowl.
2.
Add onions to
same pot and cook, stirring occasionally,
until beginning to brown, 8-10 minutes.
Add garlic
and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
Transfer
onions and garlic to bowl with pancetta.
3.
Season
chicken with salt and pepper. Working in batches, add chicken to pot skin
side down and cook, turning, until browned on all sides, 10-
15 minutes
per batch; transfer to bowl with onions.
4.
Carefully
drain fat from pot and return to medium-high heat. Add both
vinegars to pot and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up any browned
bits from bottom of pot. Add broth, raisins, bay leaves, and reserved
chicken, pancetta, onions, and garlic to pot. Bring to a boil,
reduce heat, and simmer partially covered, until chicken is
fork-tender, 35-40 minutes.
5.
Using a
slotted spoon, transfer chicken and onions to a large platter. Skim fat from cooking liquid and discard. Remove bay leaves, and season sauce
with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over chicken and onions.