Poulet en cocotte (1)

Since the electricity price hike (5.9%) was announced last September (this was after a price increase of 14.8% the previous year), I've been using less of the oven for cooking. In fact, from when the price increase came into effect till the end of 2012, I only turned on the oven around five times, four of which were for baking a cake. Though I quite like and have got very accustomed to cooking with my trusty sauté pan and griddle, one thing I do miss sometimes is a good roast chicken.


I got a nice organic whole chicken last week and contemplated roasting it on the stove top. After checking with Perfect Pans, from whom I purchased a set of Crafond pans, I decided to attempt 'poulet en cocotte' - chicken in a pot.

Ingredients

1 (1.1kg) whole chicken
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup chicken stock
2 carrots, chunks
ground paprika
freshly ground mixed peppercorns
sea salt

Preparation

1. Remove neck and giblets from chicken if required (they can be kept for other uses).
2. Rub the chicken with salt, paprika, and pepper. Leave for 30 minutes.

Method

1. Melt the coconut oil in a cocotte (or Dutch oven) over medium-high heat.
2. Brown the chicken, breast side down, for 5 minutes or till skin is golden brown.
3. While chicken is browning, stir in the carrot chunks and lightly caramelise.
4. Turn chicken, breast side up, and reduce the heat to medium-low.
5. Add water (to deglaze) into the cocotte and then the chicken stock. Season the chicken and broth with more paprika and pepper.
6. Cover the cocotte and cook over a medium-low heat for 1 hour, or until the meat is cooked through (a meat thermometer inserted in the thigh registers 180 degrees C).
7. Serve with vegetables (I put kale into the cocotte towards the end of cooking) and broth.

The smell of the chicken cooking filled my apartment with a warm and wonderful aroma.

Poulet en cocotte

And the result? Incredibly, this was the most tender and succulent chicken I've ever had.

It also reheats quite well. For dinner the next day, I took the leftover chicken out of the cocotte and added more chicken stock in along with some broccoli and cauliflower florets, garden peas, baby carrots, and curly kale. After bringing the stock to a boil, I turned off the heat, put the chicken back in and cover the cocotte, allowing the chicken to steam for a few minutes. The meat was still very tender and moist, and because of the added vegetables, the broth had a wonderful sweetness to it. 

Delighted that this worked out!