Anne Burrell's recipe via the Food Network:
- 1 (6 to 8) pound capon, cut into 8 to 10 pieces (You can use regular chicken if you can't find a capon, but I highly recommend searching one out.)
- Kosher salt
- Olive oil
- Flour for dusting
- 1/2 pound slab bacon, cut into lardons
- 3 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 1 onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 pound cremini or white button mushrooms, quartered
- 1/2 cup brandy
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 3 cups hearty red wine
- 1/2 pound small cipollini onions, (If you can't find cipollini onions, pearl onions are a good substitute)
- 4 to 6 cups chicken stock
- 1 bundle thyme
- 3 bay leaves
- 3/4 pound fingerling potatoes, cut in 1-inch slices
- Chives, finely chopped, for garnish
Coat a large Dutch oven
or rondeau with olive oil and bring to a medium high heat. Pat the
capon dry and season generously with salt, to taste. Working in batches
if necessary, coat the capon gently with flour and put IMMEDIATELY in
the hot oil. Only flour the capon that you are working with in that
batch- NO PREMATURE FLOURING! Premature flouring will result in doughy,
gritty, mealy capon rather than crispy. Brown on all sides, then remove from the pan to paper towels. Remove any excess oil from the pan.
Add the bacon lardons to the pan with a tiny splash of new olive oil. Cook the bacon until it is brown and crispy. Add the diced celery onion, season with salt, to taste, and cook over medium heat until the veggies are starting to soften, are very aromatic and have no color, about 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms give off their juices, about 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the brandy and cook until it has reduced down (you can ignite it if you want - it's fun!). Add the tomato paste and stir to combine. The mixture will become very thick--that is good! Stir in the wine and bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 4 to 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil over medium heat. Toss in the cipollini onions, skin and all! Cook the onions for 3 to 4 minutes and then strain. When the onions are cool enough to handle, discard the skin and reserve.
Return the legs and thighs of the capon to the pan, reserving the breasts. Stir in enough chicken stock until the chicken is 3/4 covered. Add the thyme and bay leaves. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Taste for seasoning and adjust, if needed. Add the cipollini onions and the potatoes. Partially cover the pan and simmer for 20 minutes.
After the capon has simmered for 20 minutes, turn the legs and thighs over and add the breasts. Check the level of liquid and add more chicken stock, if needed. Partially cover the pan and simmer for another 15 minutes.
Remove the capon from the pan and skim the sauce, if necessary. If the sauce is on the thin side reduce it down until it becomes a sauce-like consistency. Add the reserved onions and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the capon to a serving platter, garnish with chopped chives and serve with lots of the sauce.
PS: If you drain the grease from the bacon there will be no need for skimming, which I for one can never seem to accomplish successfully. And no I didn't use a capon, chicken... on sale whoot whoot! Also there's going to be left over sauce, it should be a crime to throw anything away, especially if it was mighty tasty!!!! Keep an ice cube tray around just for freezing leftover liquids, one cube is a Tbsp. Happy (cr)eating!!
