Beer-braised chickenpals up with apples

Roasted chicken is tasty, but I love braised chicken at least as much. Braising can offer a welcome change from the

usual oven-baked bird — and it cooks faster.

As it simmers, the chicken turns the cooking liquid into a tasty sauce with a wonderful aroma. Chefs have numerous tricks for enhancing this sauce by cooking the chicken in flavorful liquids instead of water.

Among French chefs, the top pick is, of course, wine. The wine selection makes a difference, but you have plenty of leeway. Naturally, you wouldn’t use very sweet wine. Dry wine is the best choice for most purposes, but a slightly sweet wine is fine if you’re making a sweet-and-sour sauce.

Many French cooks simply opt for their locally produced wine. When I visited a wine cellar in the Champagne province near Paris and learned about the complex process used in producing the region’s world-renowned bubbly, I was surprised to hear that people commonly cook chicken in champagne. Worth noting, however, is that for cooking, chefs often use still, rather than effervescent, champagne.

Cooks in northern France and neighboring Belgium simmer chicken in a humbler beverage, beer. Double malt is the type recommended by Laura Calder, author of “French Food at Home” (Morrow, 2003). In Normandy in northwest France, cider made from the area’s celebrated apples plays the same role. The cooks there use hard cider, the equivalent of dry wine, for braising birds, not the cider we think of as sweet apple juice.

Although pouring champagne, cider or even beer into a stew pot might seem extravagant, it is a frugal way to cook. Chefs generally use leftover wine or beer from a bottle that was opened a day or two before. Champagne or beer that has gone flat may not be inviting in the glass, but it’s fine in the saucepan. When it comes to braising, the bubbles don’t matter; they dissipate when the wine or beer is heated. It’s the flavor that enhances the chicken and its sauce.

The first time I cooked a chicken in beer was when I was living in Paris, while I was researching recipes for Anne Willan’s book “French Regional Cooking” (Morrow, 1981). Not being a beer drinker, I thought the sauce would be too bitter for my palate, but I was impressed by its delicacy.

I discovered that as the chicken simmers, the beer changes in character, losing its sharpness. The rich chicken essences that escape into the liquid balance the beer’s taste. Wine undergoes a similar transformation. Even if you usually find dry wine too sour to enjoy as a drink, you will probably like the sauce it produces. There is no harsh taste from the alcohol because it cooks out as the chicken stews. This also means the sauce doesn’t make you feel drunk.

If you prefer a more intense wine or beer flavor, you can use either one to marinate chicken for a few hours before braising it. Wine or beer marinades also help tenderize meat, although this is not important with chicken, which is generally sold young and tender at the market.

To braise a chicken, first brown it by sauteing in a little oil, butter or a mixture of both. The sauteing step is the main difference between braising and poaching. Unlike poaching, the liquid used in braising doesn’t have to cover the bird. All that’s needed is just enough to prevent the bird from becoming dry, although you can add more if you want extra sauce. You can braise chicken or turkey pieces, whole chickens or Cornish hens. To shorten the cooking time, use boneless chicken thighs or breasts.

A bouquet garni, an herb bundle of parsley, thyme and bay leaf, is a popular seasoning addition for wine- or beer-based sauces. So is chicken broth, which serves to further mellow the taste of the wine or beer. Not much more is needed beyond an onion and salt and pepper.

Chicken with beer and apples

2½ to 3 pounds chicken pieces, patted dry, or 1½ to 2 pounds boneless chicken thighs

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons butter or additional oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup beer

⅔ cup chicken broth

1 bay leaf

3 medium-sized apples

Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter or oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add chicken pieces in batches, and brown on all sides. Transfer to a plate. Add onion to pan, and saute over medium heat for 5 minutes until softened. Sprinkle with flour, and stir over low heat for 2 minutes. Pour in beer and broth; bring to a simmer, stirring.

Return chicken pieces to pan, and add any juices from plate. Add bay leaf. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring often, until pieces are tender when pierced with a knife, about 25 minutes for breast pieces and about 10 more minutes for leg and thigh pieces; boneless thighs will need only about 15 minutes.

Peel and core apples, and cut each into 8 wedges. Heat remaining oil and/or butter in a large skillet. Add apples; saute over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned on both sides and just tender.

Transfer chicken to an ovenproof serving platter using a slotted spoon. Arrange apples around chicken on platter; cover and keep warm in a 275-degree oven.

Discard bay leaf from pan. Skim excess fat from cooking liquid. If sauce is too thin, cook it, stirring often, until thick enough to lightly coat a spoon. Add salt and pepper to taste. To serve, spoon sauce over chicken but not over apples. Makes 4 servings.

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