I have always wondered about the origin of the name of the French dish, Poulet en Cocotte Bonne Femme, which translates roughly as “Housewife Chicken.” Regarding myself as a housewife of sorts, I set about making it one day. I soon discovered that it is a dish that requires a fair amount of kitchen time. But in the best of ways, providing an abundance of sensory pleasures, from melting the bacon and onions, then sautéing the potatoes in their perfume and watching them turn golden,
to feeling the cool chicken between my fingers before browning,
to sipping the slow-cooked syrup that envelopes the dish as all the ingredients simmer together.
What makes this recipe truly special is a wonderful French technique whereby the onions, bacon, and potatoes are each cooked in a casserole that will eventually host the chicken. Although these ingredients are removed before the chicken is added, then reintroduced later, their respective essences actually season the casserole that, in turn, imparts a delicate, yet complex, flavor to the meat. This is a deeply pleasurable dish to prepare—bear with me as I rhapsodize about it—each layer that you cook, starting with the bacon and the onions, creates an entirely new bouquet of scents dramatically different from the isolated ingredients. It is the sort of meal preparation that holds my rapt attention as I tend to it, causing me to engage in dramatic kitchen-time stall tactics (like wiping down my appliances, cleaning my stove burners and oiling my wooden spoons and bowls) just so I can be nearby while it cooks. Thus, since the growing season is over and we have a few minutes to slow down, I decided to prepare it for my family this week. As you can see below, idle kitchen time has its amusements…pleasures that only a housewife may know about…And perhaps this explains the origin of the name?? For those of you who want to play “housewife,” I did include the recipe, below (it is also in your copies of Long Way on a Little).
Poulet en Cocotte Bonne Femme, Made Simple
Taken from:
Many recipes for Poulet Bonne Femme require cut-up chicken parts, but in her 1961 classic, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia Child teaches us to do it with a whole bird, which is very convenient for those of us who’d rather not take the time or energy to cut apart our farm-fresh pastured chickens. Thus, my adaptation of the recipe utilizes her technique. While I chose to use a cut-up chicken for the recipe when I cooked it this week, as you can see from the text below, it is not necessary.
Serves 6
1 4–5-pound chicken
Coarse salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1 ½ heads of garlic, all cloves peeled but left whole, divided use
6 tablespoons butter or lard, divided use
¼ pound coarsely diced bacon
8 small to medium-size onions, cut into large wedges
1 pound small potatoes (I like Kennebecs or Fingerlings), cut into bite-size chunks
Season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper, and place 3 cloves of garlic inside the cavity. Set aside.
Melt 2 tablespoons of the fat in a large heavy casserole over medium heat. Add the bacon and onions and sauté until the onions are soft and clear (about 15 minutes). Remove both and set aside. Add 2 more tablespoons of the fat, then toss in the potatoes. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the potatoes and add them to the bacon and onions. Add the remaining fat and the chicken. Cover and allow the bird to brown on all sides, turning every 7 to 10 minutes.
Turn the chicken breast-down, lower the heat to medium-low, toss in the remaining garlic, cover, and cook 20 minutes, basting occasionally. Flip the bird breast-side up, return the onions, potatoes, and bacon to the casserole, cover, and cook another 20 to 25 minutes, basting occasionally, until the juice between the thigh joint and the main body runs clear, or to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
To serve, remove the bird to a platter, let rest 15 minutes, and carve, serving each piece with a spoonful of the sauce, potatoes, onions, bacon, and garlic.
Leftovers: The leftovers of this dish never last very long, as they taste even better on day two. Place the chicken in a glass or ceramic baking dish, cover it with the onions, potatoes, bacon and sauce, and re-warm (uncovered) in a 250-degree oven until it is heated through. The chicken, potatoes, bacon, onion and sauce also bring a really nice dimension to Onion Soup (Chapter 8) if added right at the end, just prior to serving.
Julie
I am so making that this weekend! I have had Long Way on a Little for a couple years now, but never got around to doing this recipe. I now have a full larder of potatoes and garlic, plus the freezer is full of the meat birds we raised this summer, and the weather is to turn wintry. Perfect!
admin
enjoy!
Julie
I made it! And it was good, if a little fatty for my taste (and I’m the original Jack Sprat’s wife, so that’s saying something). I used lard, so perhaps next time I’ll try butter.