Bacon Nation: 125 Irresistible Recipes (21 page)

5
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325˚F.

6
Place the flour in a shallow bowl (a pie plate works well for this). Season the pieces of chicken lightly with salt and pepper. The lardons will add a good amount of salt, so feel free to omit salt in this step. You can always taste at the end and add salt. Dredge each piece of chicken lightly in the flour, shaking off the excess.

7
Heat the fat in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it shimmers, about 1 minute, then add 3 or 4 floured chicken pieces to the Dutch oven, being careful not to overcrowd it. Cook the chicken until it is seared and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer the browned chicken pieces to a large plate and repeat with the remaining pieces of chicken.

8
Add half of the reserved marinade (about 2 cups) and 1 cup of chicken stock to the Dutch oven. Discard any remaining marinade. Add the browned chicken pieces, pushing them down into the liquid. Cover the Dutch oven and adjust the heat as necessary to bring the mixture to a simmer. Place the Dutch oven in the oven and bake the chicken until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh, but not touching a bone, registers 165˚F, 25 to 30 minutes.

9
Transfer the chicken from the Dutch oven to a large bowl. Skim the fat off the top of the sauce. Set the Dutch oven over medium-high heat and let simmer until the sauce is reduced by half, continuing to skim the fat and foam off the surface. The sauce should be of medium thickness: As Chef Wiedmaier says, “not quite thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.” If the sauce is too thick, add a little more chicken broth. If it is too thin, let it reduce further. Strain the sauce through a strainer into a medium-size bowl.

10
To assemble the coq au vin, wipe the Dutch oven clean with paper towels. Place the chicken, lardons, onions, and mushrooms back in the Dutch oven. Pour the sauce over all and sprinkle the thyme and parsley on top. Place the Dutch oven over medium heat, partially cover it, and let the chicken, sauce, and vegetables simmer gently until they are just heated through before serving.

Serves 4

Even if you don’t speak Italian, you might look at the title of this recipe and think that it’s chicken done in the style of the city of Canzano in Abruzzo, but the wonderful food writer Amanda Hesser has reported that, after extensive research, she couldn’t find confirmation of this in any of the great Italian cookbooks. However, Craig Claiborne, who more than anyone else began the New York Times tradition of well-researched and delicious recipes, wrote in 1969 that it was done this way in Canzano and that has been how it has been thought of ever since. Two trustworthy writers: You decide.

Whatever its origins, versions of this dish can be found all over Italy. It’s a simple one-pot meal that is lighter than coq au vin or chicken cacciatore (perhaps because of the white wine). Smoky bacon instead of prosciutto adds another layer of flavor. We felt that the bracing freshness of ginger would balance the bacon nicely, which makes our version even less likely to be found in Canzano.

3 tablespoons kosher salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1 organic chicken (3½ to 3¾ pounds), cut into 8 pieces

3 carrots, trimmed, peeled, and cut into 2- to 3-inch pieces

2 medium-size boiling potatoes (about 10 ounces total), cut in quarters

1 small onion, cut in quarters

3 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces

6 fresh sage leaves

2 bay leaves

1 piece (about ½ inch long) fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

3 whole cloves

1 large clove garlic, slivered lengthwise

1 fresh rosemary sprig (3 to 4 inches long)

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

¾ cup dry white wine

1 loaf French or Italian bread

1
Combine the kosher salt, sugar, and 1 cup of warm water in a large bowl and stir until the salt and sugar dissolve. Trim the excess fat off the chicken pieces. Rinse the chicken pieces under cold running water. Place the chicken in the bowl and add enough cold water to cover. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the chicken for about 1 hour. Then, drain the chicken well and discard the brine.

2
Arrange the chicken in a single layer in a large deep pot, fitted with a lid. Scatter the carrots, potatoes, onion, and bacon over the chicken. Add the sage, bay leaves, ginger, cloves, garlic, rosemary, and red pepper flakes. Add the white wine and ¾ cup of water. Cover the pot and let the liquid come to a boil over high heat. Then, reduce the heat as necessary and let the chicken simmer until it is just cooked through, 30 to 35 minutes. (An instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh, but not touching a bone, should register 165˚F. Avoid overcooking the chicken or it will be dry.)

3
Transfer the chicken and vegetables to a large shallow serving bowl. Let the sauce in the pot come to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer until the liquid reduces and becomes slightly syrupy, about 5 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaves, whole cloves, and rosemary sprig. Pour the sauce over the chicken and vegetables in the serving bowl. Serve with slices of French or Italian bread for sopping up the plentiful sauce.

Serves 4

Tagines are named for the North African crockery in which these slow braises are prepared. A tagine has a high clay dome that allows the vapor given off by the ingredients to condense and fall back on the gently bubbling stew, slowly building flavor. We have found that a good Dutch oven also does the trick. Although many tagines are made with savory ingredients only, we love the combination of fruits with meat and poultry that typify many Moroccan and Algerian tagines. Of course they also include the aromatic spices used in much Middle Eastern cuisine. The marriage of meat, fruits, and spices was also widespread in medieval European cookery (for those with the money to afford such luxuries). We think that the strong flavors really work well with bacon, but of course, in North Africa, where religious practices forbid pork, there are no bacon-based tagines.

Browning the chicken is the most time-consuming part of the preparation. If you want to speed up the process, use two skillets at once. You should have enough bacon fat for two skillets, but if not, simply add 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil. The onion is not browned in a tagine but slowly cooked until very soft to concentrate its flavor. Onion gives the tagine a delicious foundation to which half a dozen intensely individual seasoning ingredients—orange zest, cinnamon, garlic, saffron, star anise, and honey—are added to make a complex and satisfying sauce that imparts a distinct flavor to the chicken.

6 slices thick-cut bacon, coarsely chopped

1 large onion, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise

1¼ cups low-sodium chicken stock

1 organic chicken (about 4 pounds), cut into 10 pieces (see
page 133
)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil, if necessary

3 medium-size cloves garlic, minced

1 strip (3 by 1 inch) orange zest, finely chopped (see Notes)

2 large pinches saffron threads

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 star anise point (see Notes)

About 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice (from ½ navel orange)

2 tablespoons honey

1 bay leaf

12 pitted prunes

1 pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces

Couscous or quinoa (optional), for serving

1
Cook the bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until browned and most of the fat is rendered, 7 to 10 minutes, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Pour all but about 1½ tablespoons of the bacon fat into a small bowl and set it aside.

2
Heat the bacon fat in the Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and stir to coat it with the bacon fat. Add 1 tablespoon of the chicken stock, cover the Dutch oven, reduce the heat to low, and cook the onion until it is very soft but not browned, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3
As the onion cooks, trim any excess fat off the chicken pieces. Rinse the chicken pieces under cold running water and pat them dry with paper towels. Season the chicken lightly with salt (the bacon will also impart salt) and black pepper to taste. Heat 2 tablespoons of the reserved bacon fat in a large skillet over medium heat until it shimmers, about 1 minute. If necessary, add enough olive oil to the skillet to measure a total of 2 tablespoons. Working in batches so as not to crowd the pieces in the skillet, brown the chicken until golden, 6 to 8 minutes per side. Transfer the browned chicken to a plate.

4
When the onion has cooked, add the garlic and orange zest to the Dutch oven and cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the saffron, crushing it first between your fingers, and the cinnamon, ginger, cayenne pepper, and star anise point. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the orange juice, honey, bay leaf, and the remaining 1 cup and 3 tablespoons of chicken stock, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the Dutch oven.

5
Scatter the prunes and drained bacon over the onion mixture. Add the browned chicken and any juices on the plate. Cover the Dutch oven, let the mixture come to a boil, then reduce the heat and let the chicken simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the butternut squash and let simmer until the squash is tender and the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. The chicken is cooked when an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh, but not touching a bone, registers 165˚F.

6
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken, prunes, and squash to a serving bowl and cover the bowl with aluminum foil to keep warm. Using a large spoon, skim the fat off the surface of the pan juices. If the pan juices are more than about 1 cup, let them boil for a few minutes to concentrate them. Remove and discard the bay leaf and anise point and pour the pan juices over the chicken before serving it with couscous or quinoa, if desired.

Serves 4

Browning chicken breasts in a skillet and then pan-roasting them at a low temperature produces succulent white meat—a state of juiciness for the chicken breasts that is often (and dispiritingly) otherwise hard to achieve. Don’t worry if during the initial browning the chicken sticks a little to the pan and tears away when you turn it. Adam Perry Lang, who is a truly gastronomic griller, calls this “scruffing” and says that it creates more little nooks and crannies in the surface of the food, which means more area to crisp up and turn golden brown. The combination of bacon, sage, Marsala, and butter has massive mouth-filling flavor. Marsala wine is a sweet match for such mild-tasting meat as veal or chicken breasts. In the unlikely event that you have some leftover sauce, it’s wonderful with pan-seared scallops.