Ingredients
1 oz slab bacon, cut into 1/2
1 dice
1 tbsp peanut oil
3 lb up to ..
3 1/2 lb chicken, cut in 8 pieces,
1 skin & fat removed
1 salt & freshly ground black
1 pepper to taste
4 large onions, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 3/4 cup hard apple cider *or*
2 3/4 cup sparkling dry apple cider
1/3 cup brandy
8 pitted prunes
BOUQUET GARNI
6 sprigs parsley
4 sprigs fresh thyme *or*
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a deep ovenproof skillet with a
lid, brown bacon over medium-high heat, about 3 minutes, and transfer
to paper towels to drain. Pour off any fat in the pan. Add 1/2 T of
the peanut oil to the pan and brown chicken over high heat, about 3
minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate, season with salt
and pepper and set aside.
Add the remaining 1/2 T oil to the pan, reduce heat to low and add
onions. Cook stirring occasionally, until the onions are very tender
and golden, about 25 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Pour in cider and brandy and bring to a boil. Add prunes, bouquet
garni and the reserved bacon and chicken. Cover and bake until the
chicken is very tender and no longer pink inside, 45 minutes to 1
hour. Remove the bouquet garni. Taste and adjust seasonings before
serving.
Servings: 4 servings
Cider Chicken Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Beverages; Chicken; Poultry
The History of Recipes
Written recipes as an idea can be observed way back into antiquity, in truth as far into history as ancient Egypt, and quite possibly further than that. In practice though, in the main part, these ancient records were just basic hieroglyphic recipes for preparing meals.
In an interesting twist, the most ancient recipe discovered, according to academics are some tablets in the Sumerian language which show the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made those who drank it feel `exhilarated, wonderful and blissful`. Much later, in Roman times a roman called Apicius compiled a number of documents which described recipes enjoyed by his fellow Romans. He describes how the meals of wealthy Romans were split into starters, main course and afters, a very modern way of dining. He also describes how the chefs of Roman times were skilled in the use of a wide range of spices, including a few you will know for example basil, mint and asafoetida. Continuing our culinary historical journey, there were two interesting recipe books which appeared in the fourteenth century - a cookery book titled `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary named `Curye on Inglish`. The titles are a little misleading though, they are unconnected to the curry that we all know today, but instead accounts of the types of food on the tables of the upper classes of the period. Later on, in the 15th century, people returning from the crusades brought us many new foods and herbs from the holy land, including coriander, parsley, and rosemary. The introduction of these new tastes was responsible for a torrent in manuscripts on cooking, most of which are kept safe in private cookery archives. Over the succeeding few hundred years, the rich and powerful families of Wesstern Europe tried to serve up the most exotic meals, and consequentially the best cooks and their recipes were much in demand. Notwithstanding that, it was during the nineteenth century that cooking and recipe books reached a high level of popularity. The Famous Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, spent years to assembling, testing, and writing down the recipes of their peers. When we get to the twentieth century, cookery books were increasing in popularity mostly as a result of better eduction, more leisure time and having more disposable income. The TV revolution brings us celebrity chefs and the recipe books that accompanied them. And that neatly brings us to the present day and the invention of computers and the internet, allowing everybody to access massive numbers of recipes just like those on this recipe site. |
We hope you enjoy this Cider Chicken recipe.
