Poulet au Vinaigre Made Easy w/ Thighs

Poulet au vinaigre, or chicken with vinegar, is a classic French country dish that has also become a stand out in Nouvelle cuisine. Originally the sauce was cream based and the recipes had the usual copious amounts of butter. The nouvelle approach migrates toward a slightly lighter sauce, more tomato based. We wanted to keep some of the traditional richness, so this recipe incorporates a moderate amount of butter.

We are also are big fans of chicken thighs, in this case bone in and skin on. The traditional recipe calls for a whole chicken to be cut into 8 pieces. However, dark and light meat cook differently. For evenness of cooking, and because the dark meat stands up to the bold flavors so well, we are sticking with just the thighs. The recipe will easily accommodate six thighs, we used four thighs to keep from overcrowding the skillet…and having a little extra sauce didn’t hurt a bit.

This recipe is a great opportunity to serve friends and family a dish that has great history, but is pretty straightforward in preparation. No difficult techniques are used, and we’ll walk you through the entire process. With the combination of rich and slightly tangy flavors, this should easily become one of your ‘go to’ recipes of the future. Also see, rooster in wine sauce.

Poulet au vinaigre recipe

raw chicken pieces

Prepare your chicken thighs by trimming excess skin, leaving just a cap to cover the meat. Make two or three slits in the skin to allow fat to render from the meat, and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt.

Put one tablespoon vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat, Follow that with 2 tablespoons of butter. When the butter ‘blooms’ with a froth, add the chicken thighs skin side down. Cook 10-12 minutes until skin is nicely browned, flip and repeat the process for 8 minutes. Remove the chicken, pour off half the oil, leaving about two tablespoons, and add;

raw shallot on table

  • 2-3 cloves shallot, minced
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 large tomato, seeded and finely diced

shallot garlic tomato frying in skillet

When these start to soften, 1-2 minutes, add:

  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • ½ cup cooking sherry
  • ½ cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons of tomato paste

sauce ingredients cooking in skillet

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir these ingredients well, pulling all the browned bits from the skillet, and bring to a light simmer. Add the chicken thighs, skin side down and simmer. After 7 minutes, turn the chicken and continue simmering for another 7 minutes.

four chicken pieces simmering in skillet

Remove the chicken and put on an ovenproof pan. Put in the preheated oven while the sauce finishes.

Add;

  • 2 Tablespoons coarsely minced fresh tarragon

sauce w tarragon cooking in skillet

Turn sauce to medium high and allow to reduce in volume by about half 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and add;

  • 2 tablespoons butter

butter pieces with Poulet au Vinaigre sauce in skillet

Stir these ingredients together, add kosher salt to taste if needed. Verify that your chicken thighs have reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Serve the chicken dressed with the sauce and, optional, garnished with a tarragon stem.

Poulet au Vinaigre served in plate

Served here over rosemary cous cous and with baguette slices, it’s also great over rice.

Ingredient list:

  • 4-6 chicken thighs bone in with skin
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 4 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 2-3 cloves shallot, minced
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 large tomato, seeded and finely diced
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • ½ cup cooking sherry
  • ½ cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
  • Fresh tarragon

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