Burgundy Chicken - Company-worthy 1-dish Feast

Total Time: 2 hrs 10 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 50 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 3 lbs whole chickens (or use cut pieces, but see prep step #1 in both cases)
• 4 tablespoons flour (divided per prep)
• salt & pepper (to taste pref)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 5 tablespoons butter (divided per prep)
• 20 baby onions
• 3 ounces bacon (diced)
• 20 button mushrooms (sml)
• 750 ml burgundy wine
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (chopped, for garnish)
• 4 ounces croutons (for garnish, garlic flavor preferred)
• 20 baby potatoes (very sml as an opt add & pls see note #2)

Recipe

• 1 to prepare chicken: if using a whole chicken, cut into 10 pieces as follows: 2 wings, 2 legs, 2 thighs + 2 breasts (halved). reserve back & rib pieces for stock or another use. ~~ if using pre-cut chicken pieces, just divide the breasts & you are good to go. ~~ in either case, use paper towels to pat the cut pieces & remove any excess moisture.
• 2 place 3 tbsp of the flour + the salt & pepper in a lrg plastic bag, shake chicken pieces in it till lightly coated & set aside.
• 3 heat olive oil + 4 tbsp of the butter in a dutch oven (or like-sized roaster pan). add the diced bacon + onion & saute for 3-4 min, till the onions have browned lightly.
• 4 add mushrooms, saute for 2 min, remove the contents of the pan w/a slotted spoon & set aside.
• 5 add chicken pieces to the hot oil & cook till browned on all sides (about 5-6 min). pour the burgundy wine over the chicken & add the garlic, brown sugar & additional salt + pepper to taste pref.
• 6 bring to a gentle boil, reduce heat, cover & simmer for 1 hr, stirring occ.
• 7 return the reserved onions, mushrooms & bacon to the pan, cover again & cook for a further 30 minutes.
• 8 using a slotted spoon, lift out the chicken, vegetables + bacon, arrange on a warmed serving platter, remove & discard garlic & set aside.
• 9 boil the liquid rapidly for 2 min to reduce slightly. cream the remaining 1 tbsp of flour + butter together & whisk in sml amts into the liquid till thickened slightly. pour over the chicken, garnish w/parsley + croutons & serve immediately.
• 10 note #1: splitting the breasts allows for more uniform cooking, but also allows for ea of the 4 portions to include a piece of dark meat + 1/4 of the breast meat. if you prefer to plate this dish as individual servings, divide the chicken in that manner & then add equal amts of the other ingredients + the sauce. then add the 2 wing portions to the plates of those w/the heartiest appetite! :-).
• 11 note #2: for the sake of my dh who requires potatoes w/every meal, i listed 20 sml baby potatoes as an optional add during the final 30 min of the cooking time.