Why did the chicken cross the street?

For some beer!

OK, I have to admit I don’t quite get the chicken jokes. Or the knock-knock ones, must have something to do with cultural differences, but I had to give it a try. I’m supposed to always use a catchy title, not that I think this one was, but I’m trying.

A few days ago, Tyler Florence was making the ultimate Coq au Vin and it looked amazing as most of his ultimate dishes do. So I started thinking how I could bring it to Latin territory and this is what I came up with. Coq au Biere: Chicken in beer. This was oh so delicioso! It got better day after day; day 1 was awesome, but day 3 was beyond words.

I really liked the way the beer just mellowed out and became earthy, smoky and slightly sweet as it cooked into the sauce. I originally served it with very ripe, fried plantains or tajadas. I wanted to compliment the flavors of the chicken and beer with the sweetness of the plantains. On days 2 & 3 I served it with white rice to really benefit from the flavors in the sauce. I hope you will give this one a try, it is pretty easy to put together.

Chicken in Beer

8-10 chicken thighs
All purpose flour (for dredging)
2 tsp sea salt
1-1/2 tsp black pepper
2 cloves garlic, pureed
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3-4 Spaish chorizo links, sliced (or bacon)
2 cps onions, chopped
2 cps mushrooms
2 cps carrots, chopped
1/4 cp sherry or white wine
1 bottle medium dark ale (like Negra Modelo, Shiner)
2 cps fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tsp herbs de Provence

Season the chicken with salt, pepper and garlic puree, set aside. Combine flour with a pinch of salt and pepper and use it to coat/dredge the chicken pieces. Reserve 1-2 tbsp of the flour. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium high heat and brown the chicken pieces on both sides. Set aside.

Remove the excess oil and cook the chorizo in the same skillet. Then add the onions, cooking until softened. Add the mushrooms and carrots, and allow to cook until the vegetables have softened. Add the cilantro and Herbs d’Provence, once mixed in, add the reserved flour and allow it to cook for a couple of minutes.

Pour the sherry and allow it to cook down over high heat. Then stir in the beer and broth.

When the beer is well blended, add the chicken pieces and any juices that drained from the chicken. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour. Remove the lid and continue to simmer for 15 minutes to allow the sauce to reduce a bit.

That’s it! Serve with fried tajadas and or rice.

Cookingly yours,
Anamaris

Comments ( 39 )

  1. Replynorma

    I don't get those jokes either. But I know that it's why did the chicken cross the road and I still don't get it. All I get is that you made a great dish and you used one of my favorite beers...Negra Modelo...I make a few rice dishes with this beer. That platano maduro looks delicious..you can see how it caramelized. I also like the fact that you made 3 diners out of the chicken. Espero que estes bien y que tengas un lindo fin de semana.

    • Replychefyourself

      Gracias, Norma! I love Negra Modelo too, obviously. I love adding beer to my arroz con pollo and my brother has asked me to perfect some arroz con coco using beer. I'll be working on that soon. What dishes do you make with beer & rice?

  2. ReplyChristy aka Mamarazzi

    This sounds so good! Now when I give this recipe a try I'll just have to sneak a beer out of the hubbys stash! Thanks for the recipe & congrats on being fresh pressed!

    • Replychefyourself

      Christy, be sure to come back and report how it goes.

  3. Replyruntobefit

    Ok now I'm hungry...really hungry!!! www.runtobefit.wordpress.com

  4. Replylifeintheboomerlane

    Those photos are making me crazy with hunger. I use beer in my brisket and it is a fabulous ingredient. I'll have to try this recipe.

  5. Replyrodgerdodgerowl

    Stop it girl! You are making me hungry! Ever try B.B.Chicken? http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-make-beer-butt-chicken-147177/

    • Replychefyourself

      Life & Rodg- Thanks for stopping by. Beer is a great addition to cooking. As for the bb chicken, I used to make it a lot, and have been thinking about a post for it. Stay tuned...

  6. Replymuybuenocookbook

    Look delicoso -- you can't go wrong with beer ;)

  7. ReplyCrystalSpins

    My family and I tried Tyler's Coq au Vin and were very disappointed. I'll have to send my dad the Coq au Biere and see if he'd like to try chicken again. Beer does seem a bit more daddy's speed and taste. Crystal www.crystalspins.com

    • Replychefyourself

      Crystal, I don't think I've followed Tyler's recipe for the coq au vin, but I know I once followed 'a' recipe and didn't quite love it. But since I love using beer when braising proteins, I just couldn't resist. Let me know how your dad likes it.

  8. ReplyImaginarium of Pau

    The photos are really enticing! It's making me hungry now. :)

  9. Replymunira's bubble

    it's great to have a flair for cooking, but to take great pictures of it too? that's just awesome, girl! looking yum....*drool*

  10. ReplyThe Simple Life of a Country Man's Wife

    Looks great. But food usually does.

    • Replychefyourself

      Imaginarium, Munira, Simple Life--thanks so much for the compliment. I promise the food IS as good as it looks.

  11. ReplyMishell

    mmmm... hungry !

  12. ReplyBrooke

    In beer. I love ya, Anamaris!

  13. ReplyJenna

    Looks amazing!! I love the idea of using beer instead of wine, and of serving it with plantains. Brilliant. The step by step photos are great, too.

  14. Replyaida

    it look delicious mmmmmmmmm

  15. Replynannymcp22

    you can do this on beef too, same procedure, sam eingredients. and if you are bored with beer, try guiness instead of beer.:D boun appetite!!

    • Replychefyourself

      Nanny, I use beer when braising my beef and lamb, you can find a couple of recipes in the archives. I've never cooked with Guiness, though. To be honest, I've never even had a Guiness...*ducks*

      • Replynannymcp22

        hahaha i use beer and guiness on beef a lot. I have started writing some lazy chef recipes that I cook on my blogs. I cannot follow cook books so i improvise a lot. and i am also new here so i am still trying to see how the system woirks. :D you got really interesting recipes here. looking at the pictures i go nom nom nom nom!! hahaha i love my food!

  16. ReplyJanuary

    oh wow, that looks very very delicious!

  17. Replytheasycooking

    Looks Really good! Did the beer give a bitter taste to the chicken or not? http://www.theasycooking.wordpress.com/

    • Replychefyourself

      Julien, the beer adds a delicious earthy and nutty taste to the chicken, a bit of sweetness too. No bitterness at all, but then, you probably need to start with a non-puckering-bitter beer. My husband loves the Russin Stout by Stone Brewery, I can't deal with any of their beers, it's like biting into a grapefruit's rind.

      • Replytheasycooking

        Ok it really sounds great! I will try with a plain beer to start and then move to something more heavy in style. In fact it's like adding champagne to your recipe or even wine. I tried once to use whiskey but you feel too much of the alcohol. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe! http://www.theasycooking.wordpress.com/

  18. Replymarkiemark1112

    Man that looks good....

  19. ReplyEvie Garone

    It looks soo good! I don't cook, I'll have to get my husband to cook it for ME!!! Thanks for sharing!! evelyngarone.com

  20. Replypurplume

    Maybe y'all don't get the jokes because you expect some intellectual substance and they're just silly, punny and I like 'em. OMG this look so good and I could drink some beer while cooking.XD

    • Replychefyourself

      JB, the sad thing about that is that *we* don't get the silliness, what does that say about me?

  21. Reply....the little thread of thoughts

    Different way to make use of that running chicken !! Thanx 4 the both the recipes: though I think I end up having the beer instead !!

  22. Replyiheartfilm

    W O W. *Drools*

  23. Replyrsmacaalay

    Beer is an excellent ingredient always! Thanks for the post http://angsarap.wordpress.com

  24. Replylifeinarecipe

    I hope the chicken crosses the street to my house! This looks like another winning recipe of yours that is a must try for me...heading out to look for that chicken right now! ;-)

  25. ReplyConor @ HoldtheBeef

    What a plate! I'm impressed it lasted until day 3, to be honest, looks too good not to make yourself sick eating too much of ;)

    • Replychefyourself

      LOL @ Nancy & Conor. I can tell you we didn't share this with anyone AND we did eat all of it.

  26. ReplyNancy/SpicieFoodie

    Now this is what I call fusion food! I agree with Conor it wouldn't have lasted the 3 days in my house. Like little piggies we would have eaten it all in one day. Great recipe Ananmaris.

  27. ReplyLaura @ Family Spice

    I'm always looking for a great chicken recipe! YUM!

Leave a Reply to CrystalSpins Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

You may use these HTML tags and attributes:

<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>