Chicken with Dark Beer (Coq à la Bière)
Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Sissy Lamerton
"Southerners in France like their chicken cooked in wine, preferably a rich red, but northerners go for the caramel intensity of dark beer laced with plenty of onions. The sweetness of the beer is enhanced with a spicing of juniper berries and a shot of gin, the local tipple. I enjoy a puree of celery root or lentils on the side, but the traditional accompaniment would be mashed or boiled potatoes. The chicken can be prepared ahead and refrigerated in its sauce up to three days, or freeze it up to one month. Thaw, reheat, and add the yogurt and vinegar before serving." —AW
How to Make It
Step 1
Combine first 3 ingredients; sprinkle evenly over both sides of chicken. Heat butter and oil in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; sauté 5 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove pan from heat. Pour gin into one side of pan; return pan to heat. Ignite gin with a long match; let flames die down. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.
Step 2
Add celery, carrot, shallots, and juniper berries to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms. Place thyme, parsley, and bay leaf on a double layer of cheesecloth. Gather edges of cheesecloth together; tie securely. Add cheesecloth bag to pan. Return chicken to pan, nestling into vegetable mixture. Stir in beer; bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in the meaty parts of chicken registers 160°. (Breasts may cook more quickly. Check them after 35 minutes, and remove them when they're done; keep warm.)
Step 3
Discard cheesecloth bag. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Place pan over medium heat; stir in yogurt. Cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated (do not boil, as the yogurt may curdle). Remove from heat; stir in vinegar. Taste and adjust seasoning, if desired. Place 1 chicken breast half or 1 drumstick and 1 thigh on each of 4 plates; top each serving with about 3/4 cup sauce and vegetable mixture. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Chef's Notes
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partythesue's Review
Very disappointing. I guess this is one of those recipes that appeals to a certain taste. I like cooking with dark beer so it wasn't that, it just had no flavor to me. I usually don't post bad reviews, I will just tear up the recipe and not make again. But I can't understand all the 5 star review of this dish and don't want other cooks to get sucked into making it based on all the great reviews. It isn't worth making!
Patten's Review
skipped the gin and juniper berries but still great. if you make it ahead of time the outside of the chicken gets a little soggy so i will probably make it around dinner time next time. but there definitely will be a next time!
MichelleS's Review
If I could give six stars I would! I was telling all my co-workers about this one. It is a must try! I did have some minor adjustments in the recipe. I did not use yogurt in the end because I have a strong intolerance to dairy. I also went two places looking for the juniper berries and then I had to give up. I don't think I missed them though because this was stupendously delicious. I used an amber ale and served with basic mashed potatoes to soak up the wonderful sauce!
njcook's Review
This is a great recipe. The flavors really work well together for a nice balance. The presentation is also very pretty!! A keeper for sure...plus it was fun to flambe:)
sedutta's Review
This was a great recipe. I skipped the juniper berries because I didn't know where to find them and just used chicken breast cut into 1-2" chunks. It came out very moist and very good. I just put the herbs in directly instead of using a cheesecloth. I served this with thyme rolls and asparagus and will probably have mashed potatoes with the leftovers. I would say this is good enough for casual company!
shannoncreates's Review
We've made this several times and we just love it. I add many more mushrooms than it calls for and its terrific. We serve with mashed yukon gold potatoes and it goes perfectly.
bonitas's Review
This is delicious - unmistakeably French-tasting. I used only boneless chicken breasts for this recipe since we all prefer white meat. And by popular demand this has been added to our family list of favorites! Classy enough for an elegant party, too.
shangsm's Review
This was really wonderful and fairly easy to put together. I thought the sauce needed a tiny bit more salt. Otherwise, I made it as directed (skipping the cheesecloth step - I just plucked out the herbs before serving). This is wonderful with mashed potatoes and a crusty bread.
ChefSophie's Review
We served this with mashed potatoes and it just doesn't get much better. Bravo!
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Kathys90's Review