WONDERFUL CHICKEN IN SWEET RED KIDDUSH WINE – A CLASSIC FRENCH DISH WITH AN ISRAELI TWIST
CHICKEN IN SWEET KIDDUSH WINE - TASTES OF HOME
If there is one food in the world that reminds me of my parents’ home and childhood tastes, it is chicken in sweet kiddush wine.
Chicken in sweet kiddush wine is a dish that I recall from my early childhood when our Egyptian cook Ziza used to cook it for us at least once a week.
Over the years, I have tweaked the recipe repeatedly until I have reached the recipe I’m happy with.
Chicken in sweet red wine has become one of our most loved recipes by my family, and we eat the dish at least once a week.
A French dish with an Israeli twist
Chicken in sweet red wine is a dish that corresponds with the classic French dish – chicken in red wine (Coq au vin).
I have added to the dish an Israeli twist by replacing the red wine with Kiddush wine.
The Kiddush wine is the wine the Jews bless the Shabbat with and is actually a sweet red wine.
The Kiddush wine gives the chicken a slight touch of sweetness, making it very successful with children.
The stock that is created in the cooking process is so tasty. I recommend using it as a gravy for side dishes like couscous or white rice.
The flambé technique was very popular in the past in French gourmet restaurants when a waiter wearing a tie will come to the table and dramatically flambé the dish in front of the dinners.
This technique would usually be used in dishes like crepe Suzette or steak in brandy sauce.
When I make the dish, I always call the kids to watch the flambé, and I like to see their excitement.
Even though the flambé may seem scary to perform, I assure you it is an effortless thing to do as long as you follow the instruction and pay attention to the emphasis described below.
If you don’t feel like doing this step, you can easily skip it.
Another option for adding the brandy that I don’t recommend is adding the brandy straight into the pot in the cooking stage.
I’m not too fond of this method because when the pot is boiling, the alcohol fumes evaporate between the lid, and the pot might unexpectedly ignite.
If you’re going to flambé the dish, here is an explanation of how to do it right.
How to flambé a dish
- make sure the pan is centered on the flame.
- Pour the brandy into the pan.
- Let the brandy heat for a second or two (the oil will start to bubble).
- Hold the pan’s handle in your hand and move the rest of the body as far as you can from the pan.
- Pull the pan slowly toward you, exposing the flame at the far end of the pan. At this stage, the alcohol fumes will ignite in a big flame. If the alcohol did not ignite, gently tilt the pan toward the flame to get the liquids close to the flame.
- Enjoy the show and wait until the flame dies.
Safety instructions:
- if you have a stove ventilator, a cupboard over the stove, or shades next to the stove – skip this stage.
- Keep calm. You have enough time to move away. Brandy is not fuel that ignites immediately. It makes it a second or two to ignite. Pour the brandy gently and slowly and remove your hand. Don’t splash it in the pan.
- Use the amount of brandy as described in the recipe. Don’t be tempted to pour a larger amount of brandy. It will cause a bigger flame, and the taste of the dish might become a bit bitter.
- If you’re not skilled in pouring the exact amount from a bottle, pour the brandy into a cup and pour the brandy into the pan.
- When pouring the brandy, be careful with the boiling oil.
- Stay away as far as you can from the pan, and if you have a window, be careful from a wind that might turn the flame toward you.
Even though the safety instructions may seem scary, I emphasize. Once you tried it, you will see that the devil is not that scary. And it adds a lot to the dish.
DEGLAZING!
Another technique we will use in this recipe comes from the restaurant world, called deglazing.
Deglazing is a technique we use to remove the bits of seasoning and taste that stick to the cooking process’s cookware.
The deglazing is done by adding liquid to the cookware and heating it while scraping the leftover with a wooden spoon or spatula (to not scratch the cookware).
That way, we get all the flavors left behind if we don’t deglaze the cookware. Then, when we finish the deglazing process, we transfer the liquid to the dish or use it in the same cookware.
big words - simple recipe
Even though we use complex words like flambé and deglazing in this recipe, don’t let it discourage you. I emphasize we are talking about a very simple recipe that is very easy to make.
So enough talking. Let’s start cooking.
Chicken In Sweet Red Wine
Chicken in kiddush wine
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thigh separated to thigh and drumstick
- 1 bottle sweet red wine (kiddush wine)
- 2 - 3 tbsp sweet paprika
- 2 - 3 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 - 3 tbsp brandy if you want to do the flambe
- 1/4 - 1/3 cup cooking oil for frying
Instructions
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If the thighs are not separated, separate the drumstick from the thigh.
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Set the chicken on a cutting board. Season the chicken with half of the salt and the black pepper.
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Season the chicken with a nice layer of garlic powder. be generous.
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Season the chicken with a nice layer of sweet paprika. be generous.
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Turn the chicken over and repeat the seasoning process starting with the salt and black pepper.
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Season the chicken with a nice layer of garlic powder. be generous.
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Season the chicken with a nice layer of sweet paprika. be generous.
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heat the oil in a large frying pan. the oil should be around half a centimeter high.
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Fry the chicken parts for a few minutes.
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Turn the chicken over few times until it is nicely golden.
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This is the flambe stage. it adds great taste to the dish but if you want you can skip it.
Make sure the pan is centered on the middle of the flame. gently pour the brandy to the pan and remove your hand.
When the brandy starts to boil and the pan starts to bubble lean back with your body. carefully and slowly pull the pan back toward you exposing the far rim of the pan to the flame. the brandy should ignite.
Be careful the flame might be very high! gently return the pan to the center of the flame and wait until the flame dies out. it will take a few seconds.
If the brandy did not ignite when you pulled the pan backward, tilt the pan gently toward the flame so the level of the liquid will rise and help the fumes reach the flame. be careful not to spill the liquid out of th pan.
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After the flame died out turn the chicken over one more time and transfer it to a large cooking pot.
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The frying pan is left with a lot of residues of the chicken and the spices. these residues contain a lot of flavors we do not want to lose. this is why we use the deglazing process
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We return the pan to the fire and add one cup of the sweet red Kiddush wine.
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We're deglazing. with a wooden spoon or spatula, we scrape the residues from the bottom of the pan until the dissolve.
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We return the liquid that is in the pan to the pot with the chicken. we add the rest of the sweet Kiddush wine to the pot.
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Arrange the chicken parts in the pot so most of them will be submerged in the liquid. bring to boil and reduce the heat so it will keep a gentle simmer.
Cover the pot and cook for 60 - 70 minutes.
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To get a nice clear red-brown sauce we need to keep the sauce at a gentle simmer. if the dish cooks on a stronger heat (hard bubbly boil) the sauce will become more opaque and brown. the difference is in the look and there won't be any significant difference in the taste.
While the chicken is cooking, turn over the chicken parts few times, especially those parts that are not fully submerged in the sauce, so they will get a nice color.
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An easy method to check if the chicken is ready. it works with all dishes of chicken (as long as you have a drumstick). The drumstick has a small piece of meat that if it falls off the drumstick easily it is a sign that the chicken is ready.
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Poke the small piece with a fork. if it comes off easily the chicken is ready.
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The dish is ready.The dish goes well with side dishes that go well with sauce like couscous, rice or mash potatoes. just scoop some sauce with a spoon and drizzle it over the side dish. After colling the dish in the fridge the sauce will separate into two layers and become jellied. The top layer, colored brown-orange is fat.
The lower layer, colored red-dark brown is stock. this is the real treasure. just dig in with a spoon. remove the fat and get the stock out.you can heat the stock in a microwave or a pot and use it as a stock for the side dish. trust me it is phenomenal.
Made this tonight and it was delicious ! So easy to make, will be making this again for sure ! Thanks for posting the recipe
Thanks for the kind words.