This recipe is easy to make in a Dutch oven or in a large skillet with a well-fitting lid.
This is a one-pot recipe that leverages layered flavours and time to create a deeply nourishing comfort food dish.
Served best with mashed potatoes, rice or buttery polenta.
Carmen was so kind to share this recipe with us! Our team member Erin, had a grand ol’ time trying this recipe out in the kitchen. Erin put a new twist on things by whipping up some cornbread to enjoy with this delectable dish.
You’ll need:
-Bacon, chopped into 3/4″ pieces, 1/2 – 1 lb,  if you want extra bacon awesomeness!
-Chicken thighs and legs (or breasts,chopped into portions), skin removed. Plan on 2-3 pieces/person.
-2 cups each chopped celery, onions and carrots plus 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped or left whole, and, if you have some, and want to honor the French family recipe, add 2 leeks, white and light green parts, chopped (save the rest for soup stock!)
-4 cups chicken stock, or more, depending on the size of your batch, (plus white wine to deglaze the pan, optional)
-3 bay leaves
-flour for coating chicken (or skip this, and instead, thicken your finished dish with potato starch)
-salt & pepper
-1Tbsp or so of poultry seasoning, or , in a mortar and pestle, grind up fresh thyme, sage, rosemary and marjoram (oregano can replace marjoram in this dish), leaves only, adding oil and a little salt to help with the grind. You’ll end up with a paste. I will add a couple of garlic cloves to my paste, then add this seasoning at step 6. The dry poultry seasoning can be added to the flour in step 3, or added at step 6.
Directions:
1. Over medium heat in a dutch oven or large skillet, cook chopped bacon until mostly crispy. Once cooked, remove from pan with slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the bacon fat in the pan
2. Raise the heat under your pan, and if needed, add a little additional cooking oil to accommodate frying the chicken. We’re not trying to cook the chicken, just give it a nice browning, so don’t be excessive with the oil.
3. Season some flour with salt and pepper (be generous with the pepper), then dredge the chicken pieces in the flour. Once the fat/oil is hot in the pan, add the chicken pieces in batches and cook until nicely browned on both sides, adjusting heat as needed. avoid overcrowding your pan. Remove browned chicken from the pan and set aside.
4. Add the chopped carrots, celery, onion (and leeks) to the pan, and cook until onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook a few minutes, but do not burn.
5. Remove excess fat from the pan (depending on your preference). Add the bacon back to the pan, and add the bay leaves.
6. Deglaze the pan with 1 cup of wine or chicken stock, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom, and allow to simmer 5 minutes or so.
7. Leaving a layer of vegetables on the bottom, layer in your chicken pieces with vegetables between, and add remaining stock.
8. Cover pan and bake in a 325 – 350°F oven for 45 minutes to 1.5 hour, depending on the size of your pieces, until chicken is soft and very tender.
9. Remove from oven and place on stove top. Season with salt and pepper, if needed. If you want a thicker sauce, combine flour and stock or potato starch and stock and add to pan, stirring in over heat to incorporate.
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