Visited Maine this weekend and was determined to set down another recipe using Allagash beer. I was thinking chicken. You’ve heard of Coq au Vin, Or perhaps Coq au Riesling. These are classic ways to braise chicken using either white or red wine. I thought to myself, how about Coq au Beer? And Voila, here arrives a very nice recipe fusing French technique with Belgian material. You can substitute another Tripel for the Allagash . But, if you can find it, it is beautiful in this dish.
Ingredients:
- 1 Whole Chicken, cut into 10 pieces, or 8 Chicken thighs.
-2 medium Leeks, cleaned, halved and sliced thin
-1 Fennel bulb, (medium) cored and sliced thin
-2 Endives, halved and sliced thin
-1 Shallot chopped fine
-Fresh Parsley to taste
-1 Tbl Dijon
-Fresh, whole Nutmeg to grate
-1 12 oz bottle of Allagash Tripel (or fave Tripel if not available)
-2 cups Chicken Broth (home made or top quality store bought.)
-1 cup of the best local Cream you can find
-Flour for dredging Chicken and salt and pepper to taste
Method and Technique:
-Chop Leeks, Fennel, Endive and Shallot. Place in bowl and set aside
-Season Chicken with salt and pepper, lightly coat with flour and saute over medium high heat until good golden color. Set aside on paper towels.
-In the same pan, pour off all but a few Tbls of the chicken fat and add all vegetable ingredients-sweat over low-medium heat for 10 minutes, scraping all the caramelized goodness from the browned Chicken.
-Return the Chicken (put in the dark meat first, then add the white meat at 25 minutes) to the pan and add the Allagash Tripel and the Chicken stock. Bring to a low boil, then reduce to a low simmer, cover and simmer for about an hour or until Chicken is very tender.
-Remove Chicken to a platter
-Strain the Chicken braising liquid, return to pan, and reduce by half.
-Add fresh Cream, the Dijon, a grating of Nutmeg , salt and pepper to taste and return to a low simmer.
-Add the Chicken back to the pan and reduce the sauce until it coats the back of a wooden spoon.
-Garnish with plenty of chopped Italian Parsley and a squeeze of fresh Lemon if desired.
-Serve atop a Puree of Celriac, Yukon Gold Potatoes, and Tart Apple.
-Oh, and plenty of Allagash Tripel!
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