One of the great things about being a sustainable farmer is that sometimes you’re faced with interesting challenges.
So there I was with a gallon of home-made chicken bone broth (from the roasted carcasses of our own free-range birds) and a cool spring afternoon. What to do?
I paired the rich broth with several home-grown garlic cloves, a couple of harvested chickens – including an old nasty-tempered roaster that weighed in at over 12 pounds – some good brandy, red wine and celery.
First, I browned about half a pound of bacon in a very large fry pan. I sautéed a huge chopped onion in the fat, and then distributed the fragrant mix between a couple of large enameled cast iron casseroles.
I dredged the disjointed chicken pieces in flour seasoned with salt and freshly ground pepper. I heated up the fry pan once again and browned all the chicken. They, too, went into the casseroles.
I swished 1.5 c of brandy in the hot fry pan, tossed in a lit match and jumped back as flames shot up. What a glorious aroma. I divided the brandy between the two casseroles, and now used the same pan to heat a quart of the broth. While it was warming, I chopped 8 celery sticks into 1.5-inch pieces and added them to the pots.
Once the broth reached a simmer, I portioned it out to the two casseroles. I brought both pots up to a low simmer, covered them, and popped them into a 250-degree oven.
It’ll take at least three hours for these old birds to become —- coq au vin!
I hope you’re having a great dinner as well.
Sylvia