Name: COQ à la Bière (Chicken with Beer)
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Cuisine: France
Ingredients: 3 shallots (about 2 ounces/60 g total), chopped; 9 ounces/250 g button mushrooms, trimmed and halved if large; 1 cup/250 ml. dark beer; 3 tablespoons/45 ml. juniper white alcohol, more to taste; one 4- to 5-pound/2-kg. chicken, cut into 8 pieces; ¼ cup/60 ml. crème fraîche or heavy cream; 1 to 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley; 2 tablespoons/30 g butter; 1 bouquet garni; salt and pepper; 1 tablespoon vegetable oil; 3 tablespoons/22 g flour

Preparation info

Serves
4 to 6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Country Cooking of France

By Anne Willan

Published 2007

About

This classic northern dish, which is typically Flemish, demands a large, meaty bird. The sauce is a tempting golden brown, laced with dark beer and juniper white alcohol called genièvre (gin with a few crushed juniper berries can be used instead). I enjoy a purée of root celery or lentils on the side, but the traditional accompaniment is mashed or boiled potatoes.