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This chicken dish was going to be coq au vin. That didn’t happen, however. It was a Saturday night, prime time for cooking and watching old movies. Somehow, when I put the chicken back in the pot with the shallots and bacon, I managed to burn everything. Nothing to do but start over, right? I was out of shallots so I had to go back to Dorignac’s for more. By the time I got ready to pour in a bottle of Pinot Noir for the coq au vin, I was “over it,” which translated into several major modifications to what I had planned. I had half a bottle of way-too-oaky-over-the-top Chardonnay in my frig, so I decide to pour that in (rather than that really good bottle of Pinot I was going to pull out of my wine rack). I left my homemade “liquid gold” chicken stock in the freezer and opted for a carton of Swanson’s chicken broth. And while I was at Dorignac’s the second time, I bought a bag of frozen pearl onions because the thought of boiling and peeling those little white onions sitting on my counter top held little appeal now that Svengoolie was about to start. I wasn’t sure how this dish was going to turn out. But GUESS WHAT as Joe Biden would say! This dish was delicious. When I took the casserole out of the oven and tasted the gravy, it needed something else… what was it? More acid? Something to freshen up the taste? APPLE CIDER VINEGAR. To my taste buds, this gave the sauce a sort of piquant turtle soup flavor. It was really, really good and I wound up loving this chicken dish… and it is definitely a do-over. The vinegar at the end was what made a mediocre dish something special, in my opinion.
Now, why did I name this dish Chicken Malaguena? Because while I was surfing around Youtube, I came across a video of Roy Clark playing this classic flamenco piece on his guitar. I knew that Clark was a great guitarist and far more talented than his Hee-Haw appearances might have suggested. But this performance is a must-see. It was riveting and actually brought tears to my eyes! Gorgeous. So, while my chicken dish started off with low expectations due the bad attitude of its cook, something happened while I started listening to Clark perform Malaguena. It was inspiring! I think my chicken absorbed the energy too and that spash of vinegar at the end was like Clark’s final flourish with his guitar. Apparently, he ended a lot of his concerts with this song. I’ll always connect this dish with that song. Try it… make it your own… and listen to Roy Clark playing Malaguena at least once!
Ingredients
Smothered Chicken
Directions
Heat a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Saute the chopped bacon and shallots. Stir frequently so you don't burn the shallots and remove the bacon and shallots from the pot when the shallots are translucent. You don't want them to color. Wipe out the pot if necessary.
Add the oil to the pot and let it get hot. Now fry the chicken that has been dredged in the seasoned flour. Let the chicken get golden brown and then remove the chicken to a platter.
Drain the excess oil from the Dutch oven. This might be the trickiest part of making this dish! Be careful ! Have a bowl in the skin that you can pour the hot oil into.
Put the bacon and shallots back into the Dutch oven. Add the mushrooms and stir and cook until the mushrooms are tender and cooked through.
Deglaze with a splash of brandy! The alcohol will cook out quickly.
When the brandy has reduced, add the wine. Reduce it a few more minutes. Keep stirring!
Add the chicken broth. Bring the heat up if necessary to get a steady low boil.
Add the tomato paste.
Add the onions.
Add the herbs. Taste and season again with salt and black pepper (be generous with both).
Put the chicken back in the pot.
Put the lid on the pot and put it in the oven at about 350 degrees. I then lowered my oven to 325 degrees and cooked the chicken about two hours.
The chicken should be really really tender after two hours. Remove the pot from the oven, and then remove the chicken from the pot. I was able to take off some fat from the surface with a paper towel. (It took about 3 applications - just lay the paper towel on the surface and then remove it quickly and discard the paper). You can reduce the sauce a little more if you prefer and here you ADD THE VINEGAR and taste the seasoning again and adjust if necessary. Remove the bay leaf and the thyme.
When you are ready to eat, put the chicken back in the sauce and heat it up a little if necessary. Serve with some crusty bread and maybe some mashed potatoes or noodles.
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