Beer Braised Chicken with Onions and Garlic

It was 6:00pm and I hadn’t started dinner last evening.  I was wrapped up in all things Christmas.  So when I got the “what’s for dinner?” call I panicked…then thought, don’t be stupid, no need to panic…just pull out some chicken from the fridge (that’s right, another chicken dish…my kids cough and sneeze feathers!).  But I needed something fast that would feed a semi-crowd (8 hungry mouths).  I flipped through the January Bon Appetit (as I do frequently) and saw a nice recipe for Chicken Carbonnade (Carbonnade being a Belgian beef stew – according to the article – the recipe title made no sense to me…but that’s just me). I glanced at the recipe…easy enough and quickish.  I looked at the clock, if I push it, they’ll be eating by 7:30.  So, I set out to whip up another chicken dish…whoops, two problems though…I didn’t have any dark beer, and I don’t like allspice…ehh, who cares…I’ll improvise.

 After dinner I had another problem…no pictures of the finished dish to post.  It vanished.  The chicken was tender and flavorful…the boys loved it.  Next time I’ll just use a bunch of chicken thighs (as suggested in the original recipe).  This was a good crowd pleaser/buffet dish for the holidays!  And if you used chicken thighs, you would have easy individual portions…a keeper!  Here’s what you need for my adapted Chicken “Carbonnade.”

Serves 8

Ingredients

2 chickens, quartered

8 oz pancetta, diced

4 large onions, peeled and sliced

8 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

4 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons balsamic or sherry vinegar

1 bottle of beer

4 bay leaves

Canola oil

Garlic powder

Bell Seasoning (the one in the yellow box with the turkey on the front)

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 300°F.   Season chicken pieces with salt, pepper, garlic powder and Bell seasoning. Whisk mustard, chicken broth and vinegar together in a small bowl, set aside.  Heat a few tablespoons of oil in the bottom of a Dutch oven.  Cook pancetta until golden brown and crispy, remove with slotted spoon and set aside.  Add chicken, in batches to pan and brown until the skin is golden, remove and set aside.  Add onions, garlic and brown sugar to pan, cover and cook over medium heat until the onions are done and  brown in color, about 15 minutes.  Return chicken and pancetta along with any accumulated juices to onions.  Pour beer and mustard mixture over chicken.  Cover and braise in oven for 45 minutes.  Serve with steamed rice and a salad.

Adapted from Beer and Onion Braised Chicken Carbonnade, January 2009  issue of Bon Appetit