Poulet au Vinaigre (French Vinegar Chicken)

Our monthly recipe is for Poulet au Vinaigre, a delicious dish that hails from Lyon, France, but it is enjoyed throughout the country. Piquant and savory, the sauce created is truly delectable; all of the ingredients are common items used regularly in American households, and no special cooking techniques are required!

Poulet au Vinaigre has its origin in the city of Lyon, which is considered by many to be the gastronomic capital of France. Known for dishes that might strain the culturally-influenced tastes of many Americans, such as frog legs and foie gras, the city's innumerable bouchons (small traditional eateries) also serve more working-class dishes, such as sausages, braised meats, stews, and simple-to-prepare (but absolutely delicious) dishes such as Poulet au Vinaigre.

France is, of course, famous for a wide variety of wines. If wine gets exposed to air, it often gets exposed to *Acetobacter* bacteria, which devour the alcohol in wine, converting it to acetic acid. In France, red wine abounds, and so does red wine vinegar. While lots of red wine vinegar is produced from surplus wines and wines that have been accidentally exposed to air, red wine vinegar is also produced by vinegar operations from low-quality wines unsuitable for drinking. At the other end of the quality scale are "estate" vinegars made exclusively from high-quality grapes. Vinegar is not just used as a component in salad dressings in France; it is an essential ingredient in many savory sauces (such as Gribiche, Ravigote, Béarnaise, and Choron sauces) and other dishes. And broadly speaking, sauces are a defining element of French cuisine, and this sauce—simple as it is—does not disappoint. This recipe calls for red wine vinegar. I wish I could give a recommendation for the best red-wine vinegar; we used a combination of inexpensive Star and Bertolli, and the result was wonderful. Online reviews are unhelpfully all over the place, with some cheap vinegars (such as Star) being rated high in one comparative review and the same brand being rated at the very bottom of the ratings. My impression is that some vinegars are good for some uses and others are better for other deployments. For this dish, due to the pronounced flavors of the other ingredients, the most important quality is acidity, not nuanced variations of taste. Indeed, some recipes for Poulet au Vinaigre use plain white vinegar! The amount of vinegar that is used is also only a small part of the liquid in the dish, which is predominantly white wine and chicken stock.

A major flavor component in this dish is created by the "fond," that is, the residual pan juices and little bits of browned chicken that have undergone a Maillard reaction during frying, producing a lot of savory umami as well as concentrated chicken flavor. First, the chicken is browned medium-dark (be patient), then the chicken is removed from the pan, and the pan is de-glazed with a liquid (in this recipe, wine, chicken stock, and lastly red wine vinegar). During this part of the preparation, all the little browned bits are scraped off the interior of the pan and then stirred and incorporated into the liquid. Then the liquid is simmered and reduced, which will slightly thicken it and further concentrate the flavor. The addition of butter and/or cream smooths out the texture and flavor.

**Cook's Notes:**

We loved the sauce of this dish so much that we wished we had doubled the amount!

The first step is to brown the chicken pieces. Please note that you are not trying to cook the chicken completely; the final step is to bake the chicken, where it will finish cooking.

Recipes vary as to which chicken parts are used. Some recipes call for whole cut-up chicken or leg quarters or thighs (bone-in, skin-on). I think retaining the skin when frying the chicken is essential to the sauce. My guess is that skinless white meat would not work very well for this dish.

One accompaniment not shown in our photos is a baguette to sop up the sauce. I think it is *de rigueur* for the full enjoyment of this dish.

The recipe calls for fresh tarragon, but dried works just fine. Just use 1/4 the amount (we made the dish twice, once with fresh and once with dried).

Ingredients:

8 chicken thighs, skin on
1 cup of chicken stock
1 cup of dry white wine
1/2 cup of red wine vinegar
1/4 cup of shallots, minced or sliced thin
2-3 garlic cloves finely minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 tablespoons of butter
Healthy splash of heavy cream

Preparation:

Preheat an oven to 325°F
Brown the chicken thighs on both sides until they are very brown in an oven-safe pan (cast iron is what we used).
Remove the chicken and add the shallots and the garlic, and cook for 1 more minute.
De-glaze the pan with the chicken stock, white wine, and red wine vinegar.
Stir in the tomato paste.
Place the chicken back in the pan, skin side up.
Bake the dish until the chicken reaches 190°F, about 30 to 40 mins.
Remove the pan from the oven and arrange the chicken pieces on a serving plate or individual plates.
Thoroughly mix the butter and the heavy cream (optional) into the sauce.
Pour the sauce around (not on top of) the chicken pieces.
Serve with some nice wine, a baguette, salad, and a vegetable of your liking.