Poulet au Vinaigre
- Date:
- Feb. 11, 2025, 5:27 p.m.
- Topics:
- chicken french
Poulet au vinaigre, or chicken with vinegar, is one of those rustic French preparations for chicken thighs, that is both a pleasure to make and delicious to eat. The tarragon, shallot, and wine pan sauce is rich, but not too rich, and perfectly balanced.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 6 large bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 Tb vegetable oil
- ½ C diced shallots
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 Tb tomato paste
- ½ C wine vinegar
- 1 C dry white wine
- 1 C chicken broth
- ¼ C heavy cream
- 1 Tb cold unsalted butter
- 1 Tb minced fresh tarragon
Instructions
Step 1
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
- Mix salt and black pepper together, and season chicken first on the meat side. Turn chicken skin side up, pat dry, and season with the rest of the mixture.
- Heat oil in an ovenproof pan over high heat. Place thighs in, skin side down, and sear until well browned, without disturbing, about 5 minutes.
- Turn and sear meat side for 2 minutes.
- Remove to plate and turn off heat.
- Drain or use a paper towel to remove excess fat in the pan, leaving 1 to 2 tablespoons.
- Turn heat to medium, add shallots and a pinch of salt, and sauté for a few minutes, just until shallots turn translucent.
- Add garlic and tomato paste and cook, stirring, for another minute.
- Add vinegar and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add wine and broth, raise heat to high, and bring to a simmer.
- Add chicken back in, skin side up, and turn off heat.
Step 2
- Bake in the preheated oven until meat is fork tender, 40 to 45 minutes. An instant read thermometer inserted near the center should read about 195 degrees F (90 degrees C).
- Remove thighs from pan, and turn heat to high. Boil for a few minutes, or until volume is reduced by half.
- Add cream and cook until sauce starts to thicken slightly, a few minutes more.
- Reduce heat to low and add butter and tarragon. Stir until butter disappears.
- Add chicken back to the pan, and baste with sauce for a few minutes before serving.