Burgundy Recipes

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Fricasse de Poulet aux Ecrevisses
Chicken Fricasse with Crayfish

Chicken with crayfish is a combination that has been associated with towns along the River Saone for centuries. Still today, you can see flat bottomed fishing boats moored in the shallows, square-framed nets dangling from davits. Although there is not much commerical fishing anymore, amateur fishermen can still take enough crayfish to satisfy local demand.   If you can’t get crayfish, substitute with scampi. Serve this dish with a delicate fresh pasta, or rice, and maybe blanched spinach for a green.  The French way of cutting a chicken into 6 portions is a bit different: in addition to the leg/thigh and breast portions, they cut 1/3 off of each breast leaving it attached to the wing, making the wings presentable pieces as well.

INGREDIENTS

A plump 4 ½ pound chicken (farm raised if possible), portioned
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons of cooking oil
24 live crayfish
3 minced shallots
2 diced carrots
1 diced onion
3 garlic cloves crushed
2 tablespoons of Marc de Bourgogne or Cognac
½ cup of dry white wine
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 cup chicken stock
¼ cup of crème fraiche or heavy cream
½ cup of torn fresh basil

Heat the 2 tablespoons of butter and the oil in a heavy saute pan over medium-high heat. Saute the chicken pieces in 2 batches, browning well on all sides. Season with salt and pepper. Remove and set aside. Add the shallots, carrots, onion and garlic. Saute 10 minutes over low heat. Turn the heat again to medium-high and add the crayfish. When they turn red, flame them with the alcohol. When the flame dies away, and the wine and the tomato paste. Scrape the bottom of the pan well to loosen any coagulated cooking juices. Reduce heat to medium. Let the crayfish cook for 5 minutes partially covered. Remove them and set aside.

Return the chicken to the pan. Add the chicken stock and simmer for 35 minutes. While the chicken is cooking, remove the caryfish tails and peel them. Remove the black vein in the tails and reserve six crayfish heads for garnish.

When the chicken is tender, transfer it to a warm platter and keep it warm. Skim any fat off the cooking liquid. Strain the juices through a fine sieve, pressing on the solids. Return the juices to the pan and add the heavy cream and basil. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Return the chicken to the pan to reheat gently. Add the crayfish tails just before serving. Serve each chicken portion with 4 crayfish tails. Garnish the plates with the reserved crayfish bodies.

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