Chicken With Vinegar

Yield 4 servings

Time 40 minutes

Mark Bittman

Summary

Most wine vinegar sold in the United States has an acidity level of 7 percent; many French vinegars are just 5 percent acidity. So it's best to cut strong vinegar with some water, as I do here.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 3-pound chicken, cut up for sauteing
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup minced shallots or scallions
• 1 cup good red-wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon butter (optional)

Method

• 1. 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.
• 2. 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.
• 3. 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.
• 4. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the skillet, and turn the chicken in the sauce. Serve immediately.

Variations

• Paul Bocuse's version: In Step 1, brown chicken in 7 tablespoons butter. In Step 3, add 3 tablespoons butter to reduced sauce.

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12 Comments

1. 1. October 13, 2008 12:03 pm Link

   No wonder M. Bocuse is one of the most important chefs of the 20th century! He uses 10 T of butter instead of 2 T of olive oil and 1 T of butter! Genius! :)

   Seriously, though, there’s a local diner here in Astoria that used to serve a chicken breast in balsamic vinegar that was completely amazing. A diner. For like $6. The chicken was probably a frozen Purdue distributed by Sysco. The balsamic was probably cheap white wine vinegar with artificial flavors and food coloring. But it was still great. Vinegar is truly underappreciated by most home cooks.

   �?Harlan
2. 2. October 13, 2008 12:34 pm Link

   Variation: add a dollop of creme fraiche instead of butter to the final sauce

   �?PeterC
3. 3. October 13, 2008 3:56 pm Link

   It’s certainly not French red wine vinegar, but this seems like a good opportunity to test out my first batch of apple-scrap vinegar. I’ll check in once I do.

   http://www.teaandfood.blogspot.com

   �?Aaron Kagan
4. 4. October 13, 2008 4:50 pm Link

   This probably goes without saying for the more experienced cooks, but stand back once you put the vinegar in the hot pan - the acidic fumes are quite potent for the first 30 seconds or so.

   Having said that, this sounds delicious and I can’t wait to try it. Last night I deglazed a pan in which I had fried pork chops using the acidic braising liquid from red cabbage I was cooking. It was delicious and took care of the excess liquid in the cabbage pot.

   �?Amy
5. 5. October 13, 2008 5:48 pm Link

   We make chicken as follows: In a pot wider than it is tall place one cut-up chicken and add 1/3 cup vinegar and 1/3 cup soy sauce. We also add slivers of garlic. Cover the pot and cook on medium heat (gentle boil) for 20 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces over and cook them for 20 minutes more. Serve with rice.

   The chicken is very dark brown, moist, tangy, and delicious. Some of the garlicky sauce is good on the rice.

   �?Keritha
6. 6. October 13, 2008 9:50 pm Link

   15 to 20 minutes for a 3-pound chicken? This is 5 minutes per pound! This can’t be right.

   �?Louise
7. 7. October 14, 2008 11:17 am Link

   “the area around Lyons, France, where the chickens are considered by many to be the best in the world”�?I’m not so sure, Mark. I’ve heard that the so-called volaille de Bresse is only a pale copy of the original. The original breed was not fertile enough. Now the industry has taken over it�?/P>�?GeorgesR.

8. 8. October 14, 2008 12:35 pm Link

   Louise - the chicken is to be cut up.

   �?susan
9. 9. October 14, 2008 2:26 pm Link

   I have a serious addiction to sherry vinegar and will try that as a variation. I wonder where mine lies on the acidity scale - I don’t particularly remember this being listed on the label but in my mind sherry vin isn’t super acidic.

   I think 20 minutes on a high heat is perfect timing for a cut-up pre-browned chicken parts. Plus, it rests in the hot oven and still cooks a bit in the residual heat.

   �?Tia
10. 10. October 15, 2008 11:06 am Link

    I tried this recipe last night, and it was very yummy, except I was hoping the sauce would get thicker and actually stick to the chicken, rather than run off all over the plate.

    Any thoughts? Or did I do it wrong?

    �?akp
11. 11. October 16, 2008 12:39 pm Link

    I made it last night, three days after (gently) criticizing the idea of minimalist cooking in my blog. Thank you for proving me wrong! This is a superb dish �?simple to prepare, just a few easy ingredients, and wonderfully flavorful. And while I would quibble with a few things, including your suggestion of scallions instead of shallots, this is a perfect example of the joys of simple cooking. Well done!

    http://iamnotachef.com/2008/10/12/sometimes-cooking-is-complicated/

    �?iamnotachef
12. 12. October 17, 2008 8:58 am Link

    Thishas been one of my favorite dishes since it was included in “The Mimimalist Cooks at Home�?and then “Quick and Easy�? I use balsamic vinegar. I transfer the chicken to a baking dish to cook in the oven rather than putting it in a plate afterwards. I start cooking the scallions/shallots in pan after a few minutes. Akp, the sauce does stick to the chicken if it is reduced enough.

    �?Susan