Our dinner the other night, thanks to the NY Times new cooking site and my daughter’s love of vinegar.
My daughter has long been a fan of vinegar in general. Pickles are one of her favorite foods, and she tends to lick the salad plate if I’ve made balsamic vinaigrette. So imagine my joy when I encountered this vinegar chicken recipe by Mark Bittman while trolling the almost overwhelmingly extensive and superb new cooking site from the New York Times.
Oh happy day. I get to go to Iacono in East Hampton, my favorite chicken farm, to pick up a fresh bird, maybe stop at the farm stand across the street for a side and we’ll be good to go.
And good it was. The chicken is perfectly crispy, the vinegar sauce is mellow but flavorful, the whole thing is done within 40 minutes with minimal prep (I think the most difficult part is cutting up the scallions) and my daughter lapped it up.
I’ve put the recipe below, but if you are feeling adventurous, here’s how it looks on the NY Times cooking site which is still in beta (Exciting! Get in on the ground floor!) and well worth checking out.
If you really want to go all out and learn all about the history of the dish and why it is a Bittman favorite, you can always check out the original article in the Paper Of Record.
Oh and the side dish of carrots, also delicious, is beyond easy. Just drizzle some cut carrots with olive oil, a little salt, and some chopped parsley and roast them in a 400 degree oven till they’re brown (about 15 mins), turn them over so the other side gets a chance to catch up (another 10 minutes or so) take them out and enjoy.
And now, without further ado, Mark Bittman’s Chicken with Vinegar
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 3-pound chicken, cut up for sauteing
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
ΒΌ cup minced shallots or scallions
1 cup good red-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon butter (optional)
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Set a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil; when it is hot, place chicken in the skillet, skin side down. Cook undisturbed for about 5 minutes, or until chicken is nicely browned. Turn and cook 3 minutes on the other side. Season with salt and pepper.
Place skillet in the oven. Cook 15 to 20 minutes, or until almost done (juices will run clear, and there will be just a trace of pink near the bone). Remove chicken to an ovenproof platter. Place it in the oven; turn off the heat, and leave the door slightly ajar.
Pour all but 2 tablespoons of the cooking juices out of the skillet (discard them). Place skillet over medium-high heat, and add shallots; sprinkle them with a little salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until tender, about 2 minutes. Add vinegar, and raise the heat to high. Cook a minute or two, or until the powerful acrid smell has subsided somewhat. Add 1/2 cup water, and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring, until the mixture is slightly reduced and somewhat thickened. Stir in butter, if desired.
Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the skillet, and turn the chicken in the sauce. Serve immediately.
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