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| Joined: | Tue Jun 7th, 2005 |
| Location: | Colorado Springs, Colorado USA |
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Wuffy tried out that Country Captain chicken tonight. Here's the details and the result!
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The prep:
The original recipe left quite a few things to the imagination, and omitted some crucial sequences for the steps. Wuffy had to bring in his own measurements for the flour, curry powder, salt, pepper, and some other items.
It also omitted a few steps wuff will be adding next time, such as draining the salt pork (bacon) and minced onion. Finally, next time Vargr will know how soon to start the various steps to make sure everything comes out hot at the same time, and plates together without waiting on something or other.
For instance, cooking down that much onions to "golden brown" takes about 20-30 minutes and a BIG skillet! There's no way to rush them, or they'll char in places and the flavor profile chances. Wuff already had some extra rice in the fridge, but making that from scratch (not "minute" type) would also be a timing factor.
Also, Vargr was out of canned peas, so made some frozen peas on the stove to take their place (were VERY good, actually!). Wuffy will add those steps to the "revised" version.
Finally, wuffy started this far too late in the evening, so Vargr altered things to make the chicken part in the pressure cooker. MAJOR success there! Cut the over-all time enormously, and the result was superb!
Wuff also replaced the salt pork with thick-cut bacon (was out of salt pork), and the minced onions with minced shallots (ran out of onion). Vargr thinks that actually improved the results.
For the "choose your own" spices, wuff used 1.5 heaping teaspoons of Garam Masala, 3 teaspoons of red curry powder, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and about 4-5 tablespoons of flour. This made up the flour dredge.
However, the Garam Masala was rather prominent in the result, and the curry flavor barely noticeable. Next time, wuff will reduce the Garam to about 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon, and increase the red curry powder by another heaping teaspoon.
Lastly, Vargr added 1/2 C of white wine instead of using entirely chicken stock for the liquid. The hope was to "cute" the fat a little with the acid and lightness of the wine. It worked! But could be taken a little farther (was still very rich). A bit more "brightness" might help with all the butter and fat, so next time wuff will use a slightly dryer wine, and go with a whole cup.
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The Verdict:
Yum! Yummy yum yum yum!
Lots of flavor! Great mixture of tastes and texture. Will definitely be making this again, with some (minor) alterations. The Pressure Cooker version was a huge success too - cut the total cooking time for the chicken by more than half (20 minutes from 'working pressure' to 'done').
The result was sweeter than wuff expected; because of the very large amount of well-cooked, golden brown onions and the peas. And it is very, VERY rich! Wuff was full after only one helping.
The pros: Tender, juicy, rich, flavorful! The curry adds some excellent complexity, but it's a background note - not prominent. Between all the onions, fried bacon (salt pork) and other elements, this has more flavor than many recipes of its age. (A lot just relied on salt and pepper, and were served along side other elements.) The browned onions are great! And the gravy is superb, though definitely "rustic" with lots of lumpy bits from the minced onions, chicken bits, and bacon. This isn't your silky, smooth, elegant gravy, by any means. But the flavor is WOW!
The cons: This recipe is a great example of why "modern" cooks tend to revise older recipes to make them lighter, and cut some of the fat! Between the salt pork (bacon), chicken fat, and butter in this recipe, there's enough fat there to grease a Buick! *grins* The last step in the recipe was to add yet another 2 tablespoons of butter with flour to the broth and juices to make the gravy. But even after using a gravy separator to skim a lot of the fat off the top, there was so much left that wuffy just made a flour/water slurry and used that instead of adding yet more butter.
Next time wuffy does this, he'll employ some modern cooking techniques to cut the fat further, and to re-use some of the flavorful fat instead of adding additional.
Also, cooking the bacon (salt pork) and minced onion first, then adding the chicken to brown in that, was about to cause the onion and browned bits in the bottom of the pan to burn. Wuff will definitely be revising the order of those steps somewhat.
Finally, this is NOT a "one pan" dish! This will use up all the burners and multiple pots and pans to finish the dish. It's certainly worth it! But not a dish casually entered into with expectations of simple prep and quick clean up. This is a dish that needs some attention and a little multi-tasking to finish properly. But you will be well rewarded by it.
Finally the presentation would be great for a big "family around the table" event. It makes a huge platter full of food! Served with some dinner rolls and a salad, wuff could just visualize this heaping lovely platter near the head of the table, surrounded by 3-4 kids, Mom and Dad, all ready to dig in! In wuffy's household, with each person serving themselves from the different items, this presentation is a bit overwhelming. Still, it looks lovely, smells great, and tastes wonderful! So the serving style isn't bad if you have the right setting to do that. Just make sure you have a BIG platter, as even the largest "normal" place setting is going to have peas rolling off the sides and across the table with every vibration.
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Vargr will be posting the "modernized", pressure-cooker version of this recipe soon, with more easily-followed flows and some technique and ingredient alterations. Give it a try for a big family event or gathering, and you'll be glad you did! It makes a wonderful "centerpiece" for a family-style supper.
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We grow not old, so long as we continue to chase our dreams.
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