Dish of Stewed Chicken or Rabbit
(click to enlarge)

Stewed Chicken or Rabbit


France, Ile de France   -   Gibelotte de Poulet / Lapin

Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  
5 main
***
2 hrs
Yes
Awesome flavor assures this dish will be a hit at buffet parties - make plenty. The pattern recipe was Gibelotte de Lapin, but rabbits are rather costly around here, and the recipe admits it can be made with chicken.

2
9
4
2
1
1
8
4
1
1
1-1/2
1
1/3
1/8
2-1/2
------

#
oz



#
oz
T
T
c
c
cl
t
t
t
---

Chicken Meat (1)  
Mushrooms
Parsley sprigs
Thyme sprigs
Bay Leaf
Onions, tiny (2)
Bacon
Butter
Flour
White Wine
Stock (3)
Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Dijon Mustard
-- Garnish
Parsley, chopped

Rabbits have been described as "chickens without wings", and either can be used in this recipe. See also Do-Ahead.

Prep   -   (20 min)
  1. Cut CHICKEN into large bite-size pieces. If using bone-in, cut into larger pieces.
  2. Clean MUSHROOMS and trim stems. Leave whole if small, cut in half if medium and into quarters if large.
  3. Tie Parsley, Thyme and Bay Leaf together with kitchen string (so they'll be easier to remove later).
  4. Bring plenty of water to a high boil and stir in the ONIONS for 1 minute only, then chill them in cold water. Cut off just enough of the stem end so you can peel the outer skin. Cut off the minimum from the root end so the onions hold together well.
Run   -   (1-1/2 hrs)
  1. Cut BACON into small pieces and fry it slowly in Butter until the fat is translucent. Stir in the Onions and fry over moderate heat, tumbling often until bacon is browned and all its fat is mostly rendered. Remove Onions and Bacon, leaving all the fat.
  2. Fry Chicken in small batches until until lightly browned all over, being careful not to burn the fond that forms in the pan. Return any drained fat to the pan for the next batch.
  3. Drain excess fat from the pan, leaving about 1 T.
  4. Return all Chicken to the pan and sprinkle with Flour. Fry over moderate heat, tumbling often for about 1 minute.
  5. Add White Wine and Stock. Crush GARLIC and add to the pan. Bring to a boil and add Herbs and Pepper. Taste for Salt (it will depend on how salty your bacon is). Cover tightly and simmer slowly for about 15 minutes.
  6. Add Onions and Bacon to the pan, plus up to 1/2 cup Stock if needed. Bring back to a simmer and simmer slowly for another 15 minutes.
  7. Add Mushrooms to the pan and simmer covered for another 10 minutes or until the chicken is tender.
  8. Stir in Mustard. Serve hot garnished with Parsley.
NOTES:
  1. Chicken:

      This should be dark meat chicken, and weight is for skinless, boneless meat. I usually use thigh / leg meat, but if you aren't up to dismantling thighs you can use 3-3/4 pounds of whole bone-in thighs cut into pieces - or the packaged boneless leg meat that has recently appeared on the market (because the Russians are no longer taking our surplus legs). The pattern recipe called for two 2-pound rabbits cut into 6 pieces each. For details see our our Rabbit and Chicken pages.
  2. Onions:

      Pick out the smallest boiling onions you can find in the onion bin - about 1 inch diameter is good. Those in the photo were a little larger than I like, but they were what I could get that day.
  3. Stock:

      The pattern recipe calls for veal or chicken stock, but rabbit or pork stock would work fine too.
  4. Do-Ahead:

      This recipe can be made ahead all the way to adding the mustard. Refrigerated it can be held up to three days, then just reheat, stir in the mustard and serve.
  5. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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