I first tried Mary's Organic Chicken several weeks ago at Vino which was a special of the evening - simply roasted then the breast was served sliced complete with crispy skin. It might have been my imagination, too much wine or a combination of both but I (and the Mrs) thought that it had a dimension of flavor beyond your average supermarket chicken. Then a couple of weeks ago, Chef Keith braised this same product (a fresh batch, not the same chicken from weeks ago) in red wine and served it with papardelle... tender, fallin-offa-da-bone and perfect with lighter red wines. Of course through our wine gang, we discovered that Mary's Organic was also sold at none other than Whole Foods. What?! I can cook this same chicken myself? I'M SO THERE!
So we made a pilgrimage to Whole Foods this past weekend specifically for the chicken... (and a lot of other stuff). When we got home, I prepped the chicken thighs with chardonnay vine smoked salt and fresh cracked black pepper. I then prepped my mis en place of quartered criminis, rough chopped celery and fresh rosemary and thyme.
And sliced garlic:
First lightly brown the chicken in olive oil:
Then remove:
Then slightly brown the garlic with a little more olive oil:
Add the criminis and celery and once they begin to sweat, add the fresh herbs:
I chose this Argentinean Malbec for my braising wine, about half the bottle:
Add the chicken back and nestle within the herbal goodness, cover then place in a 275 degree oven for about 2 hours:
Almost ready to grind...
Voila! The finished product...
I tried this with both a 2005 Bonaccorsi Cargasacchi Vineyard Pinot Noir and a 2006 Kosta Browne Amber Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir but any lighter Sangiovese (Chianti), German or Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir or Tempranillo (Rioja) based wine would also work nicely.
And while I was a bit too lazy to prepare a starch side (too much cooking wine that went into the chef), any wide noodle pasta or even polenta would have worked. Bon Appetit and a Voitre Sante!
Comments