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Braised Chicken, 1
2 BROILERS OR YOUNG FRIERS SALT AND PEPPER FLOUR 4 TABLESPOONS FAT OR BUTTER I LARGE ONION, CHOPPED I GARLIC CLOVE, MINCED I CUP WINE OR CIDER I CUP CHOPPED TOMATO I TABLESPOON MINCED PARSLEY I PIMIENTO, FRESH OR CANNED SPRING ONIONS OR WILD ONION TOPS Quarter chickens, dredge with seasoned flour, and brown in fat with onion and garlic. Add 2-3 tablespoons wine, cover tightly and reduce heat. Keep adding wine in order to have sufficient steam to keep cooking slowly, but always replace cover as quickly as possible to keep steam from escaping. After 1/2 hour or a little longer, add tomato and simmer until done. Add parsley, chopped pimiento, and 1-2 tablespoons chopped onion tops.
A braise built in one pan, with the liquid added a few spoonfuls at a time rather than all at once. That drip-feeding is the whole method: the pan stays hot enough to keep browning while the covered steam does the cooking.
- Broilers and fryersBoth terms meant young birds, broilers running roughly 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 lb and fryers somewhat larger. Two of them quartered gives eight pieces; a single 3 1/2 to 4 lb supermarket chicken cut into eight is a practical substitute, though the pieces will be meatier and want a little longer.
- Keep the pan tightThe recipe specifies only the first addition, 2 to 3 tablespoons, and thereafter says to keep adding wine as needed for steam, so the seal matters more than the quantity. Lift the lid only to add wine, and put it back at once, or the pan runs dry and scorches.
- Wine or ciderA cup total is the working budget, not a single pour. Dry cider or a dry white both suit chicken; hard cider gives the more assertive result.
- Heat and timingBrown over medium-high, then drop to a bare simmer, low enough that you hear an occasional bubble and no sizzle. The recipe's half hour is the mark for adding the tomato, with further simmering until done, so even small birds run longer than that overall; larger modern pieces take 40 to 50 minutes or more. 165F is the safe temperature for poultry, though thigh meat is often taken nearer 175F for texture.
- Seasoned flourSalt and pepper the flour, not the chicken, and shake off the surplus. Loose flour in the fat burns before the skin colours and will taste bitter in the finished sauce.
- PimientoCanned pimientos are sweet red peppers already roasted and peeled; drain and chop. A fresh red bell pepper, blistered and skinned, does the same job. It goes in at the end for colour and sweetness, not to cook down.
- Onion topsThe green tops of spring onions or wild onions, chopped raw over the dish at the last moment. Scallion greens or chives are the everyday stand-in.
- YieldFour generous servings, or six if the pan sauce is spooned over rice or bread to stretch it.