Chicken in Burgundy
By corlear
Le poulet au bourgogne
from L'Hôtel de la Poste a Beaune
Beaune is crammed with innumerable wine cellars, for it is one of the main wine-producing centers in France. It has a fine hospital, dating back to the fifteenth century, which is run by a staff of nuns who still wear the original style of habit and who follow the original code of rules. The famous polyptych of the Last Judgment by Roger van der Weyden is in a museum attached to the hospital.
The Hôtel de la Poste was built on the site of another inn called the Auberge de l’Arbre d’Ore et de la Poste, which was founded in 1660. Victor Chevillot, who took over the hotel in 1904, was one of the most famous chefs of Burgundy. He was succeeded by his son Charles, and today his grandson Marc is in charge of the business.
- 4
Ingredients
- 1 3-pound chicken, quartered
- Salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon chicken fat
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 sprigs parsley
- Sprig or 1/4 teaspoon thyme
- 2 bottles Burgundy
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 8 small white onions
- 2 ounces salt pork, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
- 8 buttton mushrooms
- 1 truffle, sliced
Preparation
Step 1
Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Put them in a heavy casserole with the chicken fat, onions, garlic, bay leaf, parsley and thyme and cook for about 10 minutes without letting the chicken take on any color. Reserve 1 cup of the Burgundy and pour the rest over the chicken.
Warm it through and set the wine alight. Mix the flour with the reserved Burgundy and stir into the casserole. Cook, covered, 30 minutes. Remove chicken; set aside.
Reduce the sauce over very low heat for 1 — 1 1/2 hours. Strain it through a fine sieve. Return the chicken to casserole; add garnish of onions, salt pork, button mushrooms and truffle. Simmer gently for 10 minutes.