Bulmers Pear Cider Chicken Fricassee

Last Bulmers recipe of this week, "the main dish”. This is one of my favourite recipes. When you think of a Fricassee, you would probably think of that Fricassee de Poulet a L’Ancienne… a very French comfort food between a saute and a stew. But in my case I think of a warm English homemade food. You might be thinking I got it all wrong and I am a bit crazy. So I may have to explain a little bit:

When I was a kid, I spend a lot of time at my grandparents home. My grandmothers family is French and my granddad's, English. So a mix in the cuisine was for sure in every meal. Fricassee is made with dry white wine, but if you have some cider lovers around, (some with a sweet tooth) it will be made with cider. Cider is originally from England (after the romans brought it when they colonised) and as apples grow very fast there, it was the perfect setting for the beginning of production of this golden drink. So you can now do the math: Grandpa’s love for cider and Grandmas fricassee. The perfect English French love child.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (2kg) fresh or unfrosted
3 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1 yellow onion, diced.
1 big carrot, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
250gr brown mushrooms
3 tbsp potato starch (glutenfree)
1 1/4 cup Bulmers Pear Cider
1 liter chicken fond
Fresh thyme
Fresh parsley
5 bay leafs
3 egg yolks
125ml heavy cream (30% fat or more)
fresh lime juice.

Divide Chicken into 10 pieces: Legs, thighs, wings and 4 breast pieces. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Use a Dutch oven if you have one. If not, use a large pot. Add the oil and 2 tbsp butter and fry the chicken skin side down until golden and turn. Don’t crowd your pot! Just fry your chicken and set aside and add more chicken until you are done. Leave the chicken on the side.

Reduce heat and add the diced vegetables. let them there until they are golden and a bit transparent… about 10 minutes in a Dutch oven. 

Bulmers Pear cider aka Perry is made from fermented apples but with pear flavour. Either way, it is a Pear elixir you can use instead of wine for the preparation of many desserts or savory meals.

​Add the mushrooms and let them get darker. They will release some water. Add the starch and stir until all the starch is incorporated. Pour the cider while whisking.. it will get thick very fast. Add the broth and keep stirring. Return the chicken and its juices back to the pot. 

​Why I chose Bulmers Pear cider? I wish I had invented the chicken-pear match in heaven, but this was made loooong time ago as it compliments the white meats with its fruit subtlety. You can go hours in google reading all the great recipes using this two ingredients, from salads and stews to terrines and pattées. So Bulmers Pear cider was my weapon of choice.

Tie your herbs with a natural twine and bring the fricassee to boil and reduce to simmer. Cover the half of the pot with a lid and let it simmer for about 30 minutes. If you have a thermometer, check that the inside of the chicken is at 73C. Remove chicken again. And let it boil for 10 more minutes.

Now let´s make this baby thick and creamy! In a bowl, whisk the yolks and cream. Keep whisking and add slowly the cooking liquid from the pot. half a cup. And then add this mix with the yolks and cream back to the pot. Return the chicken to the pot, add a tbsp of butter and add some lime juice.

Put this single pot fricassee on the middle of the table as well as rice. That silky sauce it’s a killer combined with a well cooked grainy rice. Get some glasses, add some ice cubes and pour some pear cider on them. Fricassee is hot hot hot and Bulmers Pear will refresh you.