RCP: Pollo alla Birra

[Jenise]

That's right, chicken with beer. This is a Lidia Bastianich recipe--it caught my eye because I've never considered cooking chicken with beer. Beef and big Belgian stews yes, but something as light as chicken cooked with a strong European style beer? Hasn't crossed my path, but once her idea got planted I just had to have it. She said her recipe comes from the northern region of the Alto Adige where beer is often the beverage of choice at meals.

I followed her recipe pretty closely, though I presalted the chicken the day before as is my preference for all things roast chicken. The resulting sauce is rich and slightly sweet, surprising for Italian food but not really surprising for a region where, border shmorder, a good many speak German. She served hers with some bread dumplings that looked off-the-chart amazing but which I didn't dare make (good luck getting me to eat my chicken and vegetables if something like that is on the table). I'm supplying it as written.

Highly reccomended for a comforting, Sunday kind of dinner.


Lidia's Roast Chicken with Beer

4 pound roasting chicken
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
1 large carrot, peeled, halved crosswise and quartered
2 medium parsnips, peeled, halved crosswise and quartered
2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves
4 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1½ cups chicken stock
1½ cups flavorful beer or ale, (two 12-ounce bottles)
1 cup apple cider, preferably unfiltered

Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 400 degrees. Trim excess fat from chicken, and season it inside and out with salt. Scatter the onions, carrot, parsnips, sage, cloves, and cinnamon in the pot, sprinkle over this salt, and set the chicken on top of the vegetables. Put the pot on the stove, pour in the stock, beer, and apple cider, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, uncovered, for about 15 minutes on top of the stove. Put the pot in the oven, and roast the chicken for about 30 minutes, basting with the pan juices two or three times. Cover the chicken with a sheet of aluminum foil [or parchment] to prevent overbrowning, if needed, and roast another 30 minutes.

Remove the foil, and roast another 20 to 30 minutes, basting frequently, until the chicken and vegetables are cooked through and tender. Remove the chicken to a warm platter, and surround with the vegetables. Bring the pan juices to a boil on top of the stove, and cook until reduced by half.

Carve the chicken at the table, and spoon some of the pan juices on top.

[Robin Garr]

That really does look good, Jenise, although I've been down on Lidia ever since a not-so-stellar experience at her Felidia back in the early '80s when it was still fairly new.

Along slightly different lines, have you ever tried Coq au Riesling, the Alsatian version of the more customary red-wine Burgundian dish?

[Jenise]

That really does look good, Jenise, although I've been down on Lidia ever since a not-so-stellar experience at her Felidia back in the early '80s when it was still fairly new.

Along slightly different lines, have you ever tried Coq au Riesling, the Alsatian version of the more customary red-wine Burgundian dish?

Sure have. And in fact, before I ever saw such a recipe I'd substituted chardonnay for pinot noir in a Coq au Vin because of a preference for the color of the final result--think of it as pretty blonde vs. dishwater redhead.

But re Lidia, too bad about the resto experience but surely you agree she can cook. I'd have loved to have a woman like her for a mom! Or is this a Lidia vs. Marcella thing? I know what a fan you are of Marcella's. Speaking of whom, if you ever have a chance to pick up Kim Severson's Spoon Fed but only read one chapter, read the one about Marcella. It's probably a view of Marcella you haven't seen before. (And, I warn you, not a good one.)

That really does look good, Jenise, although I've been down on Lidia ever since a not-so-stellar experience at her Felidia back in the early '80s when it was still fairly new.
?

Jeez, Robin one bum experience and you wrote off Felidia forever. We ate there a few years ago and it was one of the best meals we had on that visit to NY.

[Robin Garr]

But re Lidia, too bad about the resto experience but surely you agree she can cook. I'd have loved to have a woman like her for a mom!

I really don't know if she can cook. She was out front the entire evening, yakking it up with her regulars and ignoring everybody else. I got lumpy polenta and crunchy risotto, but in fairness, I never saw her go into the kitchen, so I guess someone else was doing the work that night.

Or is this a Lidia vs. Marcella thing? I know what a fan you are of Marcella's. Speaking of whom, if you ever have a chance to pick up Kim Severson's Spoon Fed but only read one chapter, read the one about Marcella. It's probably a view of Marcella you haven't seen before. (And, I warn you, not a good one.)

I don't really know Marcella personally, although I was amazed and delighted when she friended me on Facebook. I loved her books and really pretty much made the leap from "okay home cook for a guy" to "serious foodie" in the '70s thanks mostly to finding her books and learning from them, so you could say that she has informed my cooking since the very start, as TomHill might say. But I've heard tales, mostly centering on ego and high prices for her cooking classes.

[Robin Garr]

And in fact, before I ever saw such a recipe I'd substituted chardonnay for pinot noir in a Coq au Vin because of a preference for the color of the final result--think of it as pretty blonde vs. dishwater redhead.

Exactly! I love 'em both. Mary really doesn't like chicken stained purple, though.

[Robin Garr]

Jeez, Robin one bum experience and you wrote off Felidia forever. We ate there a few years ago and it was one of the best meals we had on that visit to NY.

Lou, it was really one of those experiences that speaks more of the owner's fundamental attitude and approach than one bad night in the kitchen. Whatever. Too many great restaurants in NYC, too little time to try 'em all.

Jeez, Robin one bum experience and you wrote off Felidia forever. We ate there a few years ago and it was one of the best meals we had on that visit to NY.

Lou, it was really one of those experiences that speaks more of the owner's fundamental attitude and approach than one bad night in the kitchen. Whatever. Too many great restaurants in NYC, too little time to try 'em all.

That's a different story than just a bad restaurant experience.
We've been friends with two guys who have owned and worked in their own places for over 30 years. One a chef the other running the front of the house. Michael the front man describes the grand opening night of one of their most popular restaurants in such a way as to bring tears of laughter to your eyes. Everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong. It included a power failure (not their fault) numerous other glitches including a huge bottle of champagne that exploded in the middle of the restaurant spraying numerous customers with wine and glass. Thankfully nobody was injured. When Michael describes the evening it sounds like something James Thurber would write. They were very experienced when this happened, so you couldn't blame it on being newbies. They laugh now, not then.

Hey Jenise -

What beer did you use in this? Any thoughts on what might work best?

[Jenise]

Hey Jenise -

What beer did you use in this? Any thoughts on what might work best?

Though we had some good German lager available which would have been just fine, I used Alaska Amber (an ale, as you would know) because in color it seemed closest to what she used (I saw this on her show, then picked up the written recipe from her website). It worked very well.