Poulet à la Chasseur

While I prepare a history based Geocache for James Monroe Birthplace Park & Museum, I wanted to tie in a meal that James Monroe may have enjoyed upon his return.

Thus we give you Poulet à la Chasseur, AKA: Chicken Chasseur, AKA: Hunter’s Chicken. The origin is that hunters, while out hunting their game, would collect mushrooms while on their way. These would be used in a stew along with shallots and tomatoes when they got back.

About 4 lb bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces, you can cut up a whole chicken, but we went with 4 thighs, bone-in, and removed the skin.
1 lb fresh button mushrooms
2 shallots
2 carrots
1 14 oz can of tomatoes (crushed, diced, pureed, etc), we used 4 garden fresh plum tomatoes
flour
Rosemary
Thyme
Garlic
chicken stock, we used chicken bone broth.
soy sauce (not traditional but good)
brandy or cognac, we used a cup of dry white wine
oil, we used avocado oil
butter
fresh herbs for garnish (I like parsley)
salt
pepper
1 package of egg noodles, cooked per instructions and tossed with a little butter

Cut the mushrooms and carrot and get them sauteing in a little fat. Dice the shallot and add it to the pan once the mushrooms and carrot look almost done.

Meanwhile, season the chicken pieces heavily with salt and pepper and dust lightly with the flour. When the veg is soft, remove it or push it to the side so you can brown the chicken pieces.

When the chicken is golden brown, deglaze the pan with brandy/wine, add the vegetables back if necessary, stir in the tomatoes, a little white wine if you’re using it, and enough stock to cover everything. Add herbs, black pepper, salt and garlic to taste.Simmer until the chicken is as tender as you want it. We found with 4 chicken thighs, half an hour was fine.

When the chicken is done, take the pieces out and boil the sauce down until thick. Taste and adjust seasoning. A spoonful of soy sauce is optional, but adds to the umami. Return the chicken to the pan to coat and reheat, garnish with fresh herbs and serve with noodles. We also toasted some bread to better enjoy the sauce.