Episode Nine: Chicken in Tarragon Cream Sauce

Confession: Something that has always terrified me is the handling of something that still resembles the animal from which I am going to be eating.  For example, a whole chicken.  Knowing that it still has bones in it, and seeing where the head and feet used to be, really freaks me out.  By no means could I ever swear off of meat forever, especially not chicken, but the prospect of having to actually take apart an animal on my own was almost enough to convince me to abstain.

So when C went off to the grocery store to fetch me a forgotten ingredient, I realized that if I wanted to eat what was going to be my dinner, I would have to man up and learn how to do this terrible thing.  The really amusing part is that as I was tearing bones out of their joints and cutting apart tendons, one of my employees called me to ask a question about his shift.  I couldn't really put down my charge, so I continued to chat with him while all along I was tearing apart a small animal.

It's actually not that funny.  Ugh.

Anyway, this recipe is from Food & Wine's 2001 Annual Cookbook, a recipe submitted by Pascal Chaupitre.

Chicken in Tarragon Cream Sauce

10 tarragon stems, plus 2 tablespoons leaves

2 quarts rich chicken stock

1-1/2 quarts heavy cream

1 bottle dry white win, preferably a French Sauvignon Blanc

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Two 3-1/2 pound chickens - each cut into drumsticks, thighs and breast halves on the bone

1/2 pound baby carrots

Preparation:

1. Tie the tarragon stems in a bundle.  In a large pot, combine the stock, cream, wine, and tarragon stems.  Bring to a boil and season lightly with salt and pepper.  Add the chicken and bring to a boil, skimming.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring, until the breasts are cooked through, 20 minutes.  Transfer to a platter; cover with foil.

2. Continue to simmer the leg pieces until cooked through, about 20 minutes longer.  Add the leg pieces to the breasts on the platter and cover with foil.  Simmer the sauce over low heat until it has reduced by half, about 1-1/2 hours.  Discard the tarragon stems.

3. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the carrots until tender, about 4 minutes.  Drain.

4. Return the chicken to the sauce.  Add the carrots and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Garnish with the tarragon leaves and serve in shallow bowls.

Holy crap, was this dish rich!  It was amazing.  I halved the recipe, because obviously two people cannot eat two chickens in one sitting.  For the most part, the times indicated in the recipe were right on (something I love, because I enjoy setting a timer and not having to guess at extra time, or coming to find a ruined dinner).  I should have read through the recipe before deciding to make it, because neither of us realized it was a 2+ hour cooking time.  We ended up eating really late that night.  Also, while the chicken was all cooked to temperature, the dark meat was a lot more tender than the white meat.  I would consider using only thighs and legs next time, and reserving the breasts for something else.

I chopped, and poached, a chicken!  Success!

Newb: 7  Food: 2  Ricotta: 1

Starting next blog, ricotta is going to be removed from the roster.  It just hasn't been performing.

♥ Ashley