Chicken in vinegar
Poulet au vinaigre is a speciality of the bouchons of Lyon, the small restaurants serving home cooking. It sounds surprising — chicken braised in wine vinegar — but the vinegar mellows as it cooks and leaves a clean acidity that cream turns into a velvety sauce. It is a one-pan dish, ready in under an hour and a half, that tastes like restaurant food. You need good wine vinegar, ideally red; spirit vinegar makes a different, harsher dish altogether.
Your own work in that: 5 min.
- Browning and sauce base 25 min
- Braising 35 min
- Sauce 15 min
- Serving 5 min
Step by step
0 / 8 donePrepare the chicken
Pat the leg quarters dry and rub with salt and pepper. Slice the shallots thinly and chop the garlic.
Ingredients: 4 pcs chicken leg quarters (about 280 g each) · 40 g butter · 1 tbsp rapeseed oil · 1½ tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper
Brown the meat
Heat the butter and oil in a wide lidded pan (about 30 cm) and cook the chicken skin down over medium heat for 8 minutes, until the skin is golden and crisp, then 4 minutes on the other side. Move to a plate.
Ingredients: 4 pcs chicken leg quarters (about 280 g each) · 40 g butter · 1 tbsp rapeseed oil · 1½ tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper
Skin first, over moderate heat.Fry the shallots
Pour off the excess fat, leaving 2 tablespoons. Fry the shallots 4 minutes until soft, add the garlic and fry half a minute.
Ingredients: 4 pcs shallots · 2 cloves garlic · 120 ml red wine vinegar · 100 ml dry white wine · 1 tbsp tomato purée · 200 ml chicken stock · 150 ml whipping cream (30%) · 2 tsp dried tarragon (or 1 tbsp chopped fresh) · 1 tsp Dijon mustard
Reduce the vinegar
Pour in the vinegar and boil hard for 3–4 minutes, until a third is left. Keep your face away from the pan — vinegar fumes sting.
Ingredients: 4 pcs shallots · 2 cloves garlic · 120 ml red wine vinegar · 100 ml dry white wine · 1 tbsp tomato purée · 200 ml chicken stock · 150 ml whipping cream (30%) · 2 tsp dried tarragon (or 1 tbsp chopped fresh) · 1 tsp Dijon mustard
The vinegar reduces and loses its bite.Add wine and stock
Pour in the wine, add the tomato purée and cook 2 minutes, then add the stock.
Ingredients: 4 pcs shallots · 2 cloves garlic · 120 ml red wine vinegar · 100 ml dry white wine · 1 tbsp tomato purée · 200 ml chicken stock · 150 ml whipping cream (30%) · 2 tsp dried tarragon (or 1 tbsp chopped fresh) · 1 tsp Dijon mustard
Braise the chicken
Nestle the chicken into the sauce skin side up and braise with the lid ajar over low heat for 30–35 minutes, until tender (75°C at the bone).
Ingredients: 4 pcs chicken leg quarters (about 280 g each) · 40 g butter · 1 tbsp rapeseed oil · 1½ tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper
Finish the sauce
Move the chicken to a plate and cover. Add the cream (keep back a tablespoon), mustard and tarragon to the pan and cook 8–10 minutes, until the sauce thickens and coats a spoon.
Ingredients: 4 pcs shallots · 2 cloves garlic · 120 ml red wine vinegar · 100 ml dry white wine · 1 tbsp tomato purée · 200 ml chicken stock · 150 ml whipping cream (30%) · 2 tsp dried tarragon (or 1 tbsp chopped fresh) · 1 tsp Dijon mustard
Ready when it coats the spoon.Season and serve
Taste: the sauce should be clearly sour but not sharp. Add the reserved spoonful of cream if it stings, a few drops of vinegar if it falls flat. Pour over the chicken and serve with bread, potatoes or pasta.
Ingredients: 4 pcs shallots · 2 cloves garlic · 120 ml red wine vinegar · 100 ml dry white wine · 1 tbsp tomato purée · 200 ml chicken stock · 150 ml whipping cream (30%) · 2 tsp dried tarragon (or 1 tbsp chopped fresh) · 1 tsp Dijon mustard
Before you start
Which vinegar
Red wine vinegar at 6–7% acidity is best. Balsamic makes the sauce too sweet, spirit vinegar harsh and aromaless. If your wine vinegar is stronger, dilute it with water to about 6%.
With tomatoes
Some Lyonnaise versions add 2 peeled, chopped tomatoes with the stock. The sauce is then fruitier and mellower.
Storage
It keeps 2 days in the fridge. Reheat gently without boiling so the cream does not split.
