Hunter Style Chicken Chicken Chasseur Food

POULET SAUTé CHASSEUR - HUNTER'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• Blanch, peel, de-seed and chop tomatoes; comcassé (in small, seedless half inch cubes). Reserve until needed.
• In the traditional method, each piece of chicken contains only one bone. To achieve this, remove first the back and then the thigh bone; cutting them away cleanly to the top of the leg joint. (This will help accelerate your cooking time and make it easier to eat.) Fold over the skin and flesh of thigh to form a neat package (you can tie it if you want) and reserve. In a small pot, add one tablespoon of olive oil, over medium heat, until liquid and hot and then add remaining bones (thigh, back and any extra bits) and brown well before turning (about 6 minutes/side). This is a brown stock recipe, be sure to get lots of colour on those bones.
• While bones are browning, cut mushrooms, shallots, garlic and herbs, reserve remains (ie: ends of mushrooms, shallots, even the skins off the tomatoes for flavour). Then drain off excess fat from now browned and cooked, bones. Cover with water and return to stove over medium low heat, add thyme, whole peppercorns, parsley, one sprig of tarragon, and the bay leaf to stock as it begins to simmer. Add also the remains of the shallots, mushrooms, tomatoes etc. to stock to give it lots of flavour, simmering over low heat for about 30 minutes to reduce bay about half, while you cook the rest of the dish.
• In a large, deep sauté pan, sauté lardons over medium heat until golden brown then remove, drain, and de-grease the pan. Reserve cooked salt pork cubes at room temperature. Do not rinse your pan, that golden colour on the bottom of the pan is FLAVOUR. (If you want, you can use the pork fat instead of butter, but it's mighty salty.)
• Season the prepared chicken pieces with salt and pepper, over medium heat add half the butter and remaining olive oil to the pan. Once the pan is to temperature, seer chicken until brown, about 15 minutes on each side, basting chicken with butter and juices from the bottom of the pan (20 minutes per side if you are cooking bone-in). Watch that the bottom of the pan does not burn, butter has a higher smoke point than oil. Remove the now golden-brown chicken to rest on a platter or dish, uncovered, in a warm spot.
• Drain any excess chicken fat from your pan and add mushrooms, shallots and garlic to the now golden, hot pan and season with pepper only. Add remaining butter, and saute until golden. Deglaze pan with brandy, scraping all the brown bits off the bottom to dissolve. Add white wine and reduce over medium heat by about two thirds. (In the photos, you will notice that I removed the mushrooms to deglaze the pan, you don't have to.)
• Take reduced chicken stock in second pot, and strain liquid directly into pan, add veal stock and tomatoes continue to simmer over medium high heat, uncovered, about two minutes. Add salt pork lardons and stir to combine, as sauce simmers, the lardons to soften, add chopped tarragon and parsley to the sauce and stir, cooking over medium-low heat about 4 minutes. (NOTE: if sauce is not thickened to your liking, add optional cornstarch slurry to hot sauce to thicken) Check seasoning level, adjust as needed and immediately return the chicken to the pan, on top of the sauce to warm, and steam to be sure the chicken is hot, three to five minutes.

CHICKEN CHASSEUR OR HUNTER'S CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat up your oven to 375 F. In order to make Chicken Chasseur with a crispy skin, heat up clarified butter (or a combination of butter with cooking oil) in a cast iron skillet on medium heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and once your pan is hot, add chicken (skin side down) and cook undisturbed for 6-7 minutes, until the skin is nicely browned.
• Turned the chicken over and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Transfer the chicken onto a baking sheet and place in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the internal temperature shows 165F.
• Once you've moved your chicken to the oven, discard all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the skillet. Add sliced mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook for about 5 minutes. Then add chopped shallots and let them sweat for another few minutes.
• If using, add cognac and either flambe it or let it almost entirely cook-off. Add wine and deglaze the pan. Cook until about 1 tablespoon of liquid is left.
• Add tomatoes or tomato paste, chicken stock, and let cook for about 10-15 minutes.
• If your sauce is too liquidy, combine 1-2 tablespoons of either Wondra flour or all-purpose flour with a 1/2 cup of water, mix well (until smooth) and add to the sauce to thicken it up. Cook for another 2 minutes.
• Adjust seasoning, add salt and pepper as needed. Once the sauce has the right consistency, turn it off and add 2 tablespoons of cold butter and let it melt into the sauce (Tip: once you've added butter, then you cannot reduce the sauce more as the butter would break);
• Chop tarragon and parsley. Remove the chicken from the oven. Then for serving, you can either put the chicken back into the pan and sprinkle everything with herbs and serve it family style, or you plate the chicken and drench in your sauce, then sprinkle with herbs. Serve with mashed potatoes or egg noodles. Enjoy!

CHICKEN CHASSEUR (HUNTER-STYLE CHICKEN) WITH CREAMY POLENTA WITH GRUYERE AND PARMESAN

Steps:

• Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a Dutch oven over high heat. Sprinkle the chicken pieces on both sides with salt and pepper. Place the chicken in skin-side down and cook until golden brown. Turn the chicken over and brown the other side. Remove the chicken to a baking sheet or plate and set aside.
• Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and saute until golden brown. Remove the mushrooms from the pan. Add a touch more canola oil and add the shallots and cook for 30 seconds. Add 1 tablespoon of the tomato paste and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the white wine and cognac and reduce for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the mushrooms and nestle the chicken into the sauce, skin-side up. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
• Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the pan and put on a plate. Taste the sauce. Add 1 more tablespoon tomato paste and whisk to combine. Add the butter to enrich the sauce. Check the seasoning. Add the tarragon and stir to combine.
• Serve the sauce with the chicken and some of the Creamy Polenta with Gruyere and Parmesan. Garnish with a couple sprigs of chervil.
• Add the stock to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the polenta in a fine stream, whisking constantly with a wire whisk. Once all the polenta has been added, reduce the heat to low and cover the pan. Stir the mixture, using a wooden spoon, every 5 minutes and continue cooking until all the liquid has been absorbed and the mixture is very creamy, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the heavy cream and cheeses until combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

HUNTER STYLE CHICKEN- CHICKEN CHASSEUR

Steps:

• Sprinkle salt and pepper over chicken.
• Heat oil in skillet over med heat. Add chicken breasts, skin down, and cook without moving them until skin is crisp and well browned, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Turn chicken over and cook for additional 5 minutes or until chicken is browned on other side. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
• Pour off all but 2 tbs of fat from pan. Add mushrooms and cook over medium-high heat until mushrooms start to brown (6 to 8 minutes).
• Reduce heat to medium and add shallots, cook until soft (about 1 minute).
• Remove pan from heat and add brandy. Let stand until brandy warms slightly, about 10 seconds. Wave a long match over skillet until brandy ignites. Return pan to medium-high heat and shake skillet until flames die.
• Add wine. Using wooden spoon, scrape browned bits from pan bottom and simmer for about 3 minutes.
• Add broth and tomatoes and simmer over medium-high heat for about 25 minutes.
• While sauce is simmering, put chicken on a baking sheet and put in oven for 15-20 minutes or until chicken reads 160 degrees.
• When chicken is done, put on serving dish and cover with tent of foil.
• When sauce is done, whisk in butter, one piece at a time until incorporated. Add parsley and tarragon and salt and pepper to taste.
• Spoon sauce over chicken. Serve.

HUNTERS CHICKEN CHASSEUR

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle postion; heat oven to 400*F. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 12" skillet over medium high heat until almost smoking. Add the chicken breasts skin side down and cook without moving them until skin is crisp and well browned, 5-8 minutes. Using your tongs, turn chicken pieces and brown on other side, about 5 more minutes. Place browned chicken side up on baking sheet and set aside.
• Pour off all but 2 tbls. fat from pan. Add the mushrooms and cook over medium high heat until mushrooms start to brown, 6-8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add green onions; cook until softened, about 1 minute longer.
• Remove the pan from the heat and add apple juice concentratte; let stand until juice warms slightly, about 1 minute. (If using brandy or cognac, wave a lit long match over skillet until brandy ignites.Return pan to medium high heat and shake skillet until flames subside). Add wine; and using a wooden spoon, scrape brown bits from the pan bottom. Simmer briskly until reduced to glaze, about 3 minutes.
• Add broth and tomatoes and simmer over medium high heat; simmer briskly until liquid, mushrooms, and tomatoes measure 1 1/2 cups, about 25 minutes.
• While the sauce is simmering, place the chicken in the oven; roast 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer chicken pieces to serving platter and tent with foil.
• When the sauce is nicely reduced, whisk iin butter, one piece at a time, until melted and incorporated. Add the parsley and tarragon and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over chicken and serve immediately. Enjoy!