Crazy Ranger's Drunken Chicken (Coq au Vin)

This recipe is an altered Coq Au Vin recipe that The Ranger used to eat all the time growing up. It’s a comforting delicious meal with aromas that will make anyone and everyone’s mouths water. Warning: If you have a gas detector in your home it will very likely go off while cooking this dish due to all of the alcohol that burns off. While this recipe technically could be cooked over an open fire while camping, it’s definitely not recommended.

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken breast meat cut into large chunks. Drumsticks also work well.
• 3 TBsp butter
• 3 large sliced carrots
• 1 large diced onion
• 2 TBsp flour
• 2 TBsp parsley
• 1 TBsp marjoram
• ½ tsp thyme
• ¼ C brandy
• ¼ C Bacardi 151 (Yes, seriously. Rangers lead the way.)
• 1 C water
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 bay leaves2 x 4-ounce cans of mushrooms

Directions

1. Melt butter in large skillet and brown chicken.  Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
2. Add carrots and onions to skillet and cook till lightly brown.  When done, push vegetables to one side of skillet and tip pan so all fat is collected in one area.  Here you might want to add a bit more butter.
3. Add flour, parsley, marjoram, and thyme to the fat.  This will make a thick roux.
4. Level the skillet and mix the chicken back into the skillet with the roux and vegetables
5. Slowly add in brandy and Bacardi 151.
6. Add mushrooms and bay leaves. Simmer, turning chicken over and scraping the bottom of skillet every so often.
7. Remove bay leaves before serving.  Serve over white rice.

Notes About the Recipe:

These stews used to be made in a large pot that was placed in the coals of a hot fireplace, and then left all day long. That was the old school slow-cooker crock pot, which we now use today. 

*Image by Docteur Christophe used under the Flickr creative commons license.