Learn how to make Chef John's delicious Poulet au Vinaigre, a classic French dish featuring tender chicken simmered in a tangy vinegar sauce. In this step-by-step video, Chef John guides you through the process, sharing tips and techniques for achieving the perfect balance of flavors.
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00:00Hello, this is Chef John from FoodWishes.com with Poulet à Vinaigre.
00:08That's right, my French is as bad as this recipe is good.
00:12Which means it's really, really good.
00:14And not only are these rustic French recipes some of my favorite things to make and eat,
00:18but because of all the various techniques we're going to use, they're also probably
00:22my favorite recipes to teach.
00:24And to get started, we will season up the star of the show.
00:27Some nice big fat bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs.
00:30And what we'll do is flip these over and season the meat side first.
00:34And we'll do that with a mixture of kosher salt and some freshly ground black pepper.
00:39And the reason we start with this side is because we want to get a nice sear on the
00:42skin side.
00:43And if we season that first and then turn it over, the salt will start to draw out moisture
00:48and the skin will be sitting on that, and it will not sear as well.
00:51In fact, once we turn these back over, we'll actually blot the skin with a paper towel.
00:56Before we apply our salt and pepper mixture, and this really is the way we want to season
01:00our thighs, before we head to the stove, where we're going to sear this skin side down in
01:05a little bit of vegetable oil, set over high heat.
01:09And once those are in, it is very tempting to kind of play around with them and try to
01:13move them too soon.
01:15But don't do it.
01:16We probably shouldn't even touch these for about four or five minutes, since we really
01:19do want to get quite a substantial sear.
01:22And if you're wondering, then why are you touching them?
01:24Well, like I said, it's very tempting.
01:27But after about four or five minutes, that skin will have seared nicely, and we'll have
01:31released from the pan, and we should be able to turn those over without incident.
01:36And as you can see, I wasn't kidding.
01:37We really do want to go for a severe sear, since we're trying to render out as much fat
01:41from the skin as we can.
01:43And by the way, if a few spots go from golden brown to golden black, don't worry.
01:47Okay, that's not a problem, and it's actually probably an advantage.
01:52And then once those have been turned over, we only need to give the meat side a couple
01:55minutes, since we don't have to worry about rendering any fat out of the skin.
01:59So the second side sear is much shorter.
02:02So after a couple minutes, we'll pull those out of the pan, and we will turn off the heat
02:06so that we can safely blot out a little bit of the oil with a paper towel.
02:10Okay, we do want to leave a couple tablespoons, but generally we're going to have more than
02:15that.
02:16So I do like to soak up a little bit before we add our shallots, along with a nice big
02:20pinch of salt.
02:21And we'll turn our heat back on to medium, and we'll cook these stirring for a few minutes,
02:26or until they just start to turn translucent.
02:29And yes, of course you can use some onions instead, but for the truly authentic French
02:33version, please find some shallots, which is very easy, since they're always right next
02:37to the garlic and onions at the store.
02:40And that's it.
02:41Once our shallots have started to soften up, we will stop and add some sliced garlic, along
02:46with a spoon of tomato paste, and we'll cook all this stirring for about a minute.
02:50And if you'd rather mince the garlic, go ahead.
02:52I mean, you are after all the Miche's spade of how to cut with your blade.
02:57But I do think the sliced garlic adds to the rustic appearance.
03:01But either way, once we've cooked our garlic for about a minute, and our tomato paste has
03:05started to caramelize onto the bottom of the pan, we will transfer in our vinegar, which
03:09of course is a signature ingredient.
03:12And I like to use champagne vinegar, but literally any wine vinegar will work.
03:17And what we'll do is give that a quick stir, which is going to deglaze the bottom, which
03:21means to release and dissolve all that goodness from the pan.
03:25And if everything goes according to plan, after just about a minute, the bottom of our
03:29pan should be nice and clean, which really is the whole point, and the most important
03:34step for any pan sauce.
03:36And then what we'll do once everything's been deglazed, is transfer in some white wine,
03:40or a dealer's choice, and if you're keeping score at home, I went with a Sauvignon Blanc.
03:46And we will also pour in our chicken broth, and then give everything another stir.
03:51And we can raise our heat back up to high, since we want this to come to a simmer.
03:55And as soon as it does, we'll transfer our chicken back in, skin side up of course, since
04:01that's the side we're going to present, and we're also of course going to pour any accumulated
04:05juices from the plate into the pan, or if you're throwing that away, we cannot be friends.
04:11And that's it, once everything's been transferred in, and arranged to our liking, we will turn
04:16off the heat and transfer this into the center of a 325 degree oven, for about 40 to 45 minutes,
04:23or until our meat is fork tender, and hopefully looks like this.
04:27And once we pull that out, we'll remove the chicken to a plate again, and we will set
04:31it aside for a few minutes, while we complete one of the most delicious pan sauces ever
04:36invented.
04:37And the first step for that, is to turn our heat up to high, so we can bring this up to
04:41a boil, at which point we want it to reduce by about half, or a give or take.
04:47And while it does, if we want, we can skim a little bit of that fat off the top, which
04:51depending on who you're talking to, is either a really good, or a really bad idea.
04:56But whether you do any skimming or not, once we think that's reduced by about half, we
05:01will stop and add a little bit of cream, and we'll go ahead and stir that in, and let this
05:05reduce for another minute or so.
05:07Okay, I only like to reduce my cream slightly, but if you do want your sauce extra thick,
05:12you can reduce it longer.
05:14Right, that is just you cooking.
05:17But this is how far I'm going to go.
05:19And once we're at this point, we'll reduce our heat to low, and we'll toss in a chunk
05:23of butter, as well as some freshly chopped tarragon, also known as probably the best
05:28herb to pair with chicken.
05:30And what we'll do is stir that until the butter disappears, and our sauce somehow gets even
05:34more beautiful.
05:36And that's it, we can transfer our chicken back in, which is still going to be nice and
05:40hot inside.
05:41And then you don't have to, but I'm going to go ahead and baste these chicken thighs
05:44with the sauce, since I think that makes it look extra scrumptious.
05:49But some chefs don't, because they think that skin's going to stay crispy.
05:53But for me, as long as you got a really good sear on the skin, and the fat got rendered
05:56out, and the skin's not flabby, I really do not think it makes much of a difference.
06:02And as I just mentioned, I think it looks so much better with the sauce over the top.
06:06And that's it.
06:07Besides tasting the sauce for seasoning, and maybe adding a little more salt, or maybe
06:11another small splash of vinegar if we want it tangier, our chicken in vinegar is ready
06:16to enjoy.
06:17But before I do, I'm going to garnish with a little more tarragon, in the form of a few
06:22sprigs, and then a little more freshly chopped scattered over the top.
06:25And I'm going to show you one served up properly in a moment.
06:30But for now, let me go ahead and grab one, and serve it as is.
06:34Topped of course with plenty of that unbelievably delicious sauce.
06:38And that my friends, for such a simple rustic dish, really is incredible.
06:43And no, in case you're scared, it does not taste like vinegar.
06:46Of course there's a little bit of tanginess, but it's perfectly balanced by the sweetness
06:50of the shallots, and the residual sugar in the wine.
06:54Plus tarragon is a very sweet herb, which is why it works so well here.
07:00But having said that, other fresh herbs like thyme, or Italian parsley, or rosemary would
07:05also work very well.
07:07And yes, thanks to the butter and cream, the sauce is rich, but not too rich.
07:12Which reminds me, if you accidentally eat all this skin in one bite, which is where
07:16most of that sauce was attached, please make sure you re-sauce, since every forkful should
07:22be generously slathered.
07:24But anyway, to summarize, that was incredibly delicious, and I loved everything about it.
07:30But I did want to show you one properly plated, next to some mashed potatoes, and hopefully
07:35a green vegetable.
07:37And by the way, in the spirit of full disclosure, this was plated the next day, after everything
07:41was reheated.
07:44And it was just as good, if not better, than it was when it was freshly made.
07:48But anyway, no matter when you eat this, or what you eat it with, this is one of my favorite
07:53chicken and pan sauce recipes of all time, and I really, really do hope you give this
07:58a try soon.
08:01So please follow the links below for the ingredient amounts, a printable written recipe, and much
08:05more info, as usual.
08:07And as always, enjoy!