Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 250 gm sugar
- 70 ml cider vinegar and 20 ml balsamic vinegar (original recipe called for only red wine vinegar)
- 20 tarragon leaves
- Lemon juice, to taste or use Verjus (sour grape juice) which is TFD's preferred souring agent
- Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
- Curly parsley and flowering thyme (TFD addition) to garnish
- ***
- Brined chicken:
- 200 gm fine salt
- 1 organic chicken (1.5kg)
- ***
- Chicken sauce:
- 2 kg chicken wings
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
- 50 ml olive oil
- 500 gm chicken feet (see note)
- 5 thyme sprigs
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- 20 black peppercorns
- 3/4 tsp. smoked paprika (TFD addition and totally optional, but I like the hint of smoke it adds)
- 100 ml light cream
- 50 gm butter, diced
- 1 Tbsp. plain flour
- 100 ml Noilly & Prat Dry Vermouth (original called for dry white wine)
- ***
- Confit mushrooms:
- 100 gm hen-of-the-woods mushrooms (see note)
- 10 (about 120gm) button mushrooms
- Olive oil, to cover (about 1 litre)
- 5 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
- 5 thyme sprigs
Instructions
- For brined chicken, bring 2 litres water to a simmer in a saucepan over high heat, stirring to dissolve salt. Add 2 litres cold water, set aside to cool, then transfer to a container large enough to hold chicken snugly, and refrigerate until chilled (2 hours).
- Add chicken, ensuring it’s completely submerged, and refrigerate overnight to brine. Drain chicken (discard brine), pat dry inside and out and refrigerate uncovered overnight to dry.
- Meanwhile, for chicken sauce, preheat oven to 220C. Roast wings in a roasting pan until browned (50 minutes to 1 hour). Fry onion and celery in oil in a large stockpot over high heat until golden brown (10-12 minutes).
- Add wings and 6 litres water (or enough to cover bones), bring to a simmer and skim froth from surface.
- Add chicken feet, thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns and simmer over low heat until stock is well flavored (3½-4 hours). Skim fat from surface, and strain stock through a fine sieve lined with muslin into a clean saucepan (discard bones and herbs).
- Reduce stock over high heat to 500ml (45 minutes to 1 hour). Add cream and bring to the boil.
- Meanwhile, stir butter and flour in a saucepan over medium-high heat until golden (3-4 minutes).
- Gradually add vermouth and chicken stock, whisking after each addition until incorporated, then bring to the boil and whisk for a minute. Season with smoked paprika (if using) and keep warm.
- Meanwhile, for confit mushrooms, place mushrooms in a saucepan, cover with oil, add garlic and thyme and cook over low heat until tender (30-35 minutes).
- Steam dried chicken in a large steamer basket over a large saucepan of simmering water until breast feels firm and internal temperature reaches 64C (40-45 minutes). Stand at room temperature to cool (30 minutes).
- Stir sugar in a small saucepan with 50ml water over medium-high heat to dissolve, then boil without stirring until dark caramel, swirling pan occasionally (10-12 minutes). Deglaze pan with vinegars and set aside to cool, then brush glaze over chicken and stand to dry briefly (10 minutes).
- Place a frying pan over high heat. Drain oil from mushrooms, place in hot pan and fry until golden and starting to crisp (1-2 minutes). Season to taste and keep warm.
- Heat 10cm-12cm vegetable oil in a large deep stockpot to 190C (hot oil will bubble up, so don’t fill to more than a third). Holding the bird securely, carefully lower it into the pot (be careful, hot oil will spit) and fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown (8-10 minutes).
- Remove chicken with care (hot oil will drain from the cavity), transfer to a board, and cut into 8-10 pieces, halving legs, and thickly slicing breasts and arrange on a platter. Add lemon juice and tarragon to sauce. Spoon sauce over chicken, garnish with parsley, flowering thyme and mushrooms and serve.
- Note: Chicken feet are available from Asian butchers; they may need to be ordered ahead. Hen-of-the-woods mushrooms are available from farmers’ markets and specialists suppliers. If they’re unavailable, substitute oyster or chestnut mushrooms.