Braised Chicken with Figs | My Paris Kitchen

Braised chicken is not as popular as roasted chicken in my kitchen. Simply because it’s more time consuming to do. And you need to watch the pot while you braise instead of the forget-about-it method of sticking everything in the oven. I love fresh figs. However, the idea of braised chicken with figs seems out of the left field. I don’t know what to make of it; I’d have to trust David Lebovitz for this one.

Braising chicken is nothing new, we have gone down this path before when we made coq au vin with David. The process goes:

• First, start with browning the chicken.
• Next, cook the vegetables and aromatics until tender.
• Stir in the flour.
• Then, deglaze the pan with wine
• Cover and simmer in wine and stock until the meat is cooked.
• Finally, reduce the strained cooking liquid to make a sauce.

So no surprise there; it’s exactly the same steps as cooking coq au vin.

Except there are a few twists and turns when it comes to the braised chicken with figs. This time, we are braising a chicken whole. Usually, my general preference is a small chicken weighing about 3 pounds. For this recipe, I ordered an organic chicken from D’Artagnan.

What surprises me is that the recipe does not call for a lengthy marinade like coq au vin. I was all prepared to do that. Looking back, I remember Julia Child’s coq au vin recipe requires no marinade either. So, it’s safe to assume the long braise takes care of flavor development.

After about a half-hour simmer, turning the chicken once to ensure even cooking, here comes the tricky part. We are supposed to take out the whole cooked chicken and cut it into neat pieces without mashing it. However, it’s delicate procedure that I don’t do often!

Now, let’s talk about the figs, the star ingredient. I made my rounds in the local supermarkets looking for fresh figs. Ultimately, I came up empty handed and disappointed.

In the end, I used 10 oz. of dry California mission figs for the task. That is to say, a huge amount of figs went into braising the chicken and the final reduction sauce. As a result, that sauce is out of the world! That’s all the reason to make this dish. Serve it on anything — mashed potatoes, pasta, rice or grains. You name it. It’s instantly gratifying.