Chicken En Cocotte

   Chicken En Cocotte

This dish is by translation is Chicken in the Pot, a one pot dish that I like because it makes no attempt to save the skin or make it crispy or anything else. It relies entirely on the taste of meat and the sauce.

Ingredients

4-4.5 lbs Roasting Chicken (it must fit in the dutch oven without touching)
1 large yellow onion, cut into 8 wedges
8 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
1.5 cups of Dry White Wine (I like Chenin Blanc but any quality non-sweet wine is ok)
5 Tbs lbs butter, divided
10 Thyme sprigs
3 Tbs Lemon juice
2 Tbs Dijon Mustard
1/2 cup finely chopped Tarragon leaves
Kosher salt and Pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack set for lower middle roasting
2. Place large (7+ Quart) dutch over over medium heat, add 1 Tbs butter, onions and garlic. Cook until lightly browned.
3. Stir in wine and place thyme twigs on top.
4. Dry Chicken completely with paper towels. Season with Salt and Pepper.
5. Set chicken on top or thyme and onions breast side down.
6. Cover and baked until breasts reach 160 degrees and thighs reach 175-180 degrees; About 55-60 minutes. Remove Dutch Oven to Stove.
7. Using tongs inserted into the cavity transfer chicken to dish turning it breast side up and let rest for 15 minutes
8. To make the sauce, remove and discard Thyme twigs’ tilting pan to one side, skim and remove fat with large spoon, Bring to simmer over medium heat to reduce liquid to one cup.
9. Off heat, whisk in remaining 4 Tbs of butter, lemon juice and mustard. Taste and add salt/pepper as needed. Transfer sauce to a bowl.
10. To plate, remove legs from chicken; remove/discard skin and divide drumstick and thigh and plate; Remove/discard skin from breasts; Then remove breast meat from bone, slice into thin slices cross ways and plate;
11. Stir in fresh Tarragon into sauce and serve with chicken.