Chicken poached in red wine, part two

by Don  

I decided to try this recipe myself in an attempt to duplicate Diane's lovely dinner.

  1. Sauteed a thinly sliced onion in olive oil. Removed the onions to a bowl once sweet.
  2. I started with three skinless half-breasts of chicken. To reduce cooking time, I cut the thick parts away from the thin parts, and then sliced the thick parts longwise in half. Then I browned them (not very brown) on both sides in the olive oil from the previous step. Removed the chicken from the pan.
  3. Returned the onions to the oil. Poured a glass of red wine into the pan. Brought to a gentle boil. Added the chicken back to the pan. Poached about ten minutes on one side. Sprinkled lightly with table salt, black pepper and garlic powder.
  4. Turned the chicken to the other side. Sprinkled lightly with table salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Added more wine as needed to continue poaching.
  5. Removed the breasts after 10 minutes.
  6. Served the chicken with onions and sauce over it.

It came out edible. This time the preparation was more interesting than the actual result. Thoughts for next time:

  • For wine I used a Fetzer Merlot. My theory was that chicken has a gentle flavor, and I didn't want to overwhelm it with too spicy a red, whereas in fact generally I favor very peppery cabernets. Frankly, it was a bit dull. Next time I'll try the peppery cab.
  • Next time I'll brown significantly longer, hoping for a bit more umami, carmelly meat taste, and I'll poach longer to soften the meat more, probably fifteen minutes per side.
  • Next time I'll put more time into the sauce after the chicken has been removed, maybe adding some vinegar and lemon, perhaps guided by this recipe. Then perhaps I'll run it through the blender before serving.
  • I like the idea of a bay leaf in the poaching sauce.

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