Coq a la Biere

This unusual, hearty dish of chicken, beer, mushrooms and bacon from the north of France would originally have been made with a tough old rooster (coq), but you won’t find one of those anywhere. Never mind — a chicken works beautifully, and takes considerably less time to cook.

The beer you choose matters a great deal here, and an American lager simply won’t work well. Look for a Belgian ale; I’ve had good luck with beers labled “Trappist tripel”.

Ingredients #

Instructions #

Cut the chicken into serving pieces, cutting the breasts off the bone and deboning the thighs. Cut the breasts into two equal pieces each. You will have 6 boneless pieces and 2 drumsticks. Season them all over with salt and pepper, and use half of the flour to lightly dust or dredge them.

Reserve the carcass (or pieces thereof) and the wings.

Preheat the oven to 320 F and adjust the rack so you’ll be able to put your Dutch oven in with plenty of clearance.

Add the lard or bacon fat to a large heavy casserole or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the fat is very hot ad shimmering, add the carcass and wings and brown them evenly all over for about 5 minutes or until well-browned. Remove and reserve them.

Brown the chicken serving pieces in the same way: very well all over (working in batches as necessary to avoid crowding the pan). Be careful not to overcook the breast pieces. Remove the chicken pieces to a plate, cover loosely with foil.

If there’s excessive fat in the pot, pour some of it off. Add the fresh butter and let the foam subside. Add the shallots and sauté them, until they’re softened. Add the cognac and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom to loosen the brown bits. This may catch fire, so don’t have your face too close — that’s just the alcohol burning off, and will only last a moment. Just keep stirring. Once the cognac is fully evaporated and the shallots begin to sizzle again, add half of the bacon and half of the mushrooms, and cook, stirring frequently until everything begins to brown.

Pour the beer over the chicken and mix everything gently. Add the juniper berries, bay leaves, cloves and sugar. Cover the pot and cook in the oven for 45 minutes. After 15-20 moments, remove the breast pieces to a baking tray and cover with foil. Return the pot to the oven to finish cooking.

While the chicken cooks, place a small skillet over medium heat and cook the remaining bacon until crisp and brown; remove to a small bowl. Cook the remaining mushrooms in the rendered bacon fat until brown and soft through. Remove to the same bowl with the bacon. Stir to combine and set aside.

Once 45 minutes have elapsed, remove the pot from the oven. Fish out the carcass pieces and wings. These can be discarded at this point — they’ve contributed all they can to the pot. Carefully remove the rest of the chicken pieces to the baking tray with the breasts, arranging all skin-side up.

Place the pot over high heat, stir in the cream, and bring to a boil. Let it reduce until it coats a spoon nicely. While it’s reducing, place the chicken under the broiler until the skin crisps up a bit and browns (be careful not to burn it!).

When the sauce is fully reduced, stir in half of the parsley and remove from heat.

To serve, ladle the sauce into a large serving dish or individual soup plates. Arrange the chicken pieces over the sauce, and scatter the bacon-mushroom garnish over everything. Sprinkle with the remaining minced parsley and serve.