Chicken With Raisins

By Florence Fabricant

Total Time: 40 minutes, plus overnight soaking
Rating: 4(59)
Notes: Read community notes

I turn to this recipe -- adapted from the French chef Madeleine Kamman, who died in the summer of 2018 — when cool weather is on the horizon. Perhaps it’s the dried fruit or chicken braised in a sauce (instead of being striped on the grill) that appeals to the season. But it’s an easy winner for those first dinners when fall appears. Though plumped raisins are called for, other dried fruit, like diced figs or quartered prunes work well, too.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

½cup black raisins
½cup brandy
1chicken, cut in 8 pieces
3tablespoons walnut oil
Salt and ground black pepper
¼cup minced shallots
¾cup verjus (see note)
2tablespoons glace de viande or de volaille (concentrated meat or chicken stock) or packaged roasted chicken base
3tablespoons crème fraîche

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Place raisins in a bowl, add brandy and set aside to plump overnight or for at least 8 hours.
Step 2
Make the chicken: Dry chicken pieces. Heat oil in a sauté pan on medium-high, add chicken, skin side down, season with salt and pepper, and sear until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Turn pieces and brown second side. Scatter shallots over chicken. Add verjus to the pan, cover, reduce heat to low and cook 15 to 20 minutes, basting chicken once, until chicken is cooked through.
Step 3
Remove chicken to a dish and cover to keep warm. Add raisins with their brandy to the pan, bring to a simmer for a couple of minutes, then add glace de viande and crème fraîche. Cook for several minutes, until the sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon.
Step 4
Return chicken to the pan, baste with the sauce, then transfer the contents of the pan to a warm, rimmed platter and serve.

Tip

Verjus, the unfermented juice of green wine grapes, is sold on many winery websites, as well as from sources like Walmart, Amazon and igourmet.com.

Ratings

4 out of 5

59 user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Marj5 years ago

Ce plat était absolument merveilleux! Alas, I seem to have become super-sensitive to sulfites, which igourmet says are naturally occurring in the verjus they sell from Perigord, France. I quickly developed a bad headache after wolfing down this wonderful chicken with verjus for acidic tang and raisins to sweeten the sauce. It may be impossible to find verjus absent sulfites, and one can become sensitive to them at any time. Regrettably, you will have to sub white wine vinegar or lemon juice.

J2 years ago

Made a half recipe in a 9" cast iron braiser. I substituted a good quality Italian white wine vinegar for the verjus and a packet of beef demi glace for the glace de viande. The result was amazing. I'll be making this one on regular basis.

Marj5 years ago

Kathy5 years ago

Delicious! I used white verjus since the recipe did not indicate whether red or white should be used, and substituted prunes for raisins. This is a keeper!

Philip5 years ago

Kathy, you called it right. White verjus is noted in the "Tips" section below the recipe. Looking forward to trying it soon!

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