The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (48 page)
Read The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Online
Authors: The Editors at America's Test Kitchen
Tags: #Cooking
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Coq au vin was all the rage in the 1960s, when French cooking really began to take hold in American kitchens. Now, however, it seems a far less exotic dish, and the many recipes for it that have appeared over the years are often bland and boring. We wanted a tasty coq au vin, in which tender, juicy chicken is infused with the flavors of red wine, mushrooms, onions, and bacon. For maximum flavor and richness, we relied on chicken legs alone, rather than a combination of legs and breasts, and gave the sauce and wine enough time to fully reduce. Tomato paste was a fuss-free way to add extra depth and body to the sauce, and a hefty amount of aromatics, as well as the classic pearl onions and white mushrooms, amped up the traditional savory notes of the dish. Reserving the cooked bacon on the side until the end ensured it was still crispy in the finished dish, which we had thickened using a beurre manié (equal parts uncooked flour and butter).
SERVES 4
Use any $10 bottle of fruity, medium-bodied red wine such as a Pinot Noir or Zinfandel.
4 | chicken leg quarters (about 3 pounds), trimmed, thighs and drumsticks separated |
Salt and pepper | |
1 | (750-ml) bottle medium-bodied red wine |
2¹⁄ | cups low-sodium chicken broth |
1 | teaspoon dried thyme |
10 | parsley stems plus 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley |
1 | bay leaf |
5 | slices thick-cut bacon, cut into ¹⁄ |
6–7 | tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature |
1 | large carrot, chopped coarse |
1 | large onion, chopped coarse |
2 | shallots, peeled and quartered |
2 | garlic cloves, skin on and smashed |
1¹⁄ | teaspoons tomato paste |
³⁄ | cup frozen pearl onions, thawed |
8 | ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and halved if medium or quartered if large |
2–3 | tablespoons all-purpose flour |
1.
Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper; set aside. Bring red wine and chicken broth to boil in large saucepan; reduce heat to medium-high and simmer until reduced to about 4 cups, about 20 minutes. Assemble thyme, parsley, and bay leaf together in double layer of cheesecloth and tie securely with kitchen twine to form bouquet garni.
2.
Meanwhile, cook bacon in Dutch oven over medium heat until fat has rendered and bacon is crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove bacon with slotted spoon to paper towel–lined plate; set aside. Heat 1 tablespoon butter with rendered bacon fat; add carrot, onion, shallots, and garlic and sauté until lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Press vegetables against side of pan with slotted spoon to squeeze out as much fat as possible; transfer vegetables to pan with reduced wine mixture (off heat) and discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from Dutch oven.
3.
Add 1 tablespoon butter to Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat. Add chicken (in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding) and cook until well browned, 12 to 16 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate; set aside. Pour off fat from Dutch oven; return to heat and add wine-vegetable mixture. Bring to boil, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan. Add browned chicken, bouquet garni, and tomato paste, bring to simmer, then reduce to low and simmer gently, partially covered, until chicken is tender, flipping once, 45 to 60 minutes.
4.
While chicken and sauce are cooking, heat 2 tablespoons butter in medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add pearl onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and almost cooked through, 5 to 8 minutes. Add mushrooms, season with salt, cover, increase heat to medium, and cook until mushrooms release their liquid, about 5 minutes. Uncover, increase heat to high, and boil until liquid evaporates and onions and mushrooms are golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer onions and mushrooms to plate with bacon; set aside.
5.
Transfer chicken to platter and tent loosely with aluminum foil. Strain sauce through fine-mesh strainer into large measuring cup, pressing on solids to release as much liquid as possible (you should have 2 to 3 cups liquid). Return sauce to pan and skim fat off surface. For each cup of sauce, mash 1 tablespoon each of butter and flour in small bowl or plate to make beurre manié (you should have 2 to 3 tablespoons each of butter and flour). Bring sauce to boil and whisk in beurre manié until smooth. Add reserved chicken, bacon, onions and mushrooms; season with salt and pepper to taste, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer gently to warm through and blend flavors, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in minced parsley. Transfer chicken to serving platter, pour sauce over chicken, and serve immediately.
COOKING WITH WINE
When cooking with wine, it can be daunting trying to choose the right bottle among all the varieties available. We’ve found that a good rule of thumb is to choose a medium-bodied, non-oaked variety that’s not too sweet. And save expensive wines for drinking—the differences in flavor between most stews, braises, and pan sauces made with $30 bottles and those made with $10 bottles are minimal. For white wines, we prefer clean, crisp, dry Sauvignon Blancs to sweet Rieslings or heavily oaked Chardonnays, which can dominate subtle flavors. For red wines, most recipes do well with a medium-bodied Côtes du Rhône while a robust Cabernet Sauvignon is a good match for bolder dishes. Finally, never buy “cooking wines.” These low-alcohol concoctions have little flavor, high-pitched acidity, and enormous amounts of salt. If you’re concerned about the brief shelf life of wine—only a few days after a bottle is opened—we recommended boxed wines, which store the liquid in an airtight plastic sack. Dry vermouth, with a shelf life of several months, makes a good substitute for white wine. Another alternative is freezing: measure 1 tablespoon of wine into each well of an ice cube tray and freeze. Remove each cube with a paring knife and store in a zipper-lock bag. Add the frozen cubes to sauces as needed.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Like France’s famous fish stew, chicken bouillabaisse should be boldly flavored with saffron, pastis (an anise-flavored liqueur), garlic, fennel, and orange. To adapt the traditional version to use chicken, we replaced the homemade fish stock with store-bought chicken broth. To give the broth extra body and depth, we added flour and tomato paste to our sautéed aromatics. So the alcoholic taste of the pastis could burn off, we added it at the start of the simmer. As for other ingredients, white wine added brightness, while diced canned tomatoes were the best way to ensure consistently good tomato flavor year-round. After lightly browning and simmering the chicken, it was tender and well flavored, but the skin was flabby. Steam rising from the simmering liquid was soaking the chicken skin when we tried to cook it in the broth, so we made a switch from the stovetop to the oven, where the heat from above kept the moisture from condensing on the chicken. This change, plus a final blast under the intense heat of the broiler, kept the skin crisp.
SERVES 4 TO 6
The rouille and croutons (steps 4 and 5) can be prepared either as the chicken cooks or up to 2 days in advance. Leftover rouille will keep refrigerated for up to 1 week and can be used in sandwiches or as a sauce for vegetables and fish.
BOUILLABAISSE
3 | pounds bone-in chicken pieces (breasts, thighs, and drumsticks, with breasts cut in half), trimmed |
Salt and pepper | |
2 | tablespoons olive oil |
1 | large leek, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced thin, and washed thoroughly |
1 | small fennel bulb, stalks discarded, halved, cored, and sliced thin |
4 | garlic cloves, minced |
1 | tablespoon tomato paste |
1 | tablespoon all-purpose flour |
¹⁄ | teaspoon saffron threads |
¹⁄ | teaspoon cayenne pepper |
3 | cups low-sodium chicken broth |
1 | (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained |
12 | ounces Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into ³⁄ |
¹⁄ | cup dry white wine |
¹⁄ | cup pastis or Pernod |
1 | (3-inch) strip orange zest |
1 | tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon or parsley |
ROUILLE AND CROUTONS
3 | tablespoons water |
¹⁄ | teaspoon saffron threads |
1 | (12-inch) baguette |
4 | teaspoons lemon juice |
1 | large egg yolk |
2 | teaspoons Dijon mustard |
2 | small garlic cloves, minced |
¹⁄ | teaspoon cayenne pepper |
¹⁄ | cup vegetable oil |
¹⁄ | cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil |
Salt and pepper |
1. FOR THE BOUILLABAISSE:
Adjust oven racks to middle and lower positions and heat oven to 375 degrees. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chicken pieces, skin side down, and cook without moving until well browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Using tongs, flip chicken and brown other side, about 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to large plate.
2.
Add leek and fennel and cook, stirring often, until vegetables begin to soften and turn translucent, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste, flour, saffron, and cayenne and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add broth, tomatoes, potatoes, wine, pastis, and orange zest; bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes.
3.
Nestle chicken thighs and drumsticks into simmering liquid with skin above surface of liquid; cook, uncovered, 5 minutes. Nestle breast pieces into simmering liquid, adjusting pieces as necessary to ensure skin stays above surface of liquid. Bake on middle rack, uncovered, until breasts register 145 degrees and thighs/drumsticks register 160 degrees 10 to 20 minutes.
4. FOR THE ROUILLE:
While chicken cooks, microwave water and saffron in medium microwave-safe bowl until water is steaming, 10 to 20 seconds. Let sit for 5 minutes. Cut 3-inch piece off baguette; remove and discard crust. Tear crustless bread into 1-inch chunks (you should have about 1 cup). Stir bread pieces and lemon juice into saffron-infused water; soak 5 minutes. Using whisk, mash soaked bread mixture until uniform paste forms, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in egg yolk, mustard, garlic, and cayenne until smooth, about 15 seconds. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in vegetable oil in steady stream until smooth mayonnaise-like consistency is reached, scraping down bowl as necessary. Slowly whisk in ¹⁄
2
cup olive oil in steady stream until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. FOR THE CROUTONS:
Cut remaining baguette into ³⁄
4
-inch-thick slices. Arrange slices in single layer on rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bake on lower rack until light golden brown (can be toasted while bouillabaisse is in oven), 10 to 15 minutes.
6.
Remove bouillabaisse and croutons from oven. Position oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Return bouillabaisse to oven and cook until chicken skin is crisp and breast registers 160 degrees and drumsticks/thighs register 175 degrees, 5 to 10 minutes (smaller pieces may cook faster than larger pieces; remove individual pieces as they reach correct temperature).
7.
Transfer chicken pieces to large plate. Skim excess fat from broth. Stir tarragon into broth and season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer broth and potatoes to large shallow serving bowls and top with chicken pieces. Drizzle 1 tablespoon rouille over each portion and spread 1 teaspoon rouille on each crouton. Serve, floating 2 croutons in each bowl and passing remaining croutons and rouille separately.
