As a student at the French Culinary Institute, I took Chef Jacques’ classes in the ’90s. He has been a mentor to me. One of my favorite recipes is chicken in vinegar sauce. It is a simple recipe with big flavor—a great dish to share with friends and family at any time of the year. It is perfect for a party but can easily be halved for a smaller group.

Chicken Thighs in Vinegar Sauce

Category

Category name

Serves

5-8

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup corn oil
  • 5 pounds chicken thighs with skin and bones
  • 4 ounces all-purpose flour, plus more for dredging
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 6 celery stalks, thinly diced
  • 1 white onion, sliced
  • ½ cup garlic cloves
  • 2 ounces sliced ginger with skin on
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 ½ teaspoons fresh rosemary
  • 6 ounces tomato paste
  • 2 cups sherry vinegar
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. Heat the oil in a large, pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Dredge the chicken thighs in flour and arrange skin-side down in the pan without overcrowding them. You can brown them in two batches if necessary. Brown the thighs until the skin is golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Remove the thighs to a plate.
  3. Remove and discard half of the oil and lower the temperature to medium. Add the peppers, celery, onion, ginger, garlic and rosemary, salt, pepper and butter and stir well. Cook, stirring so that all of the vegetables are coated with butter. Add the tomato paste and sprinkle the flour evenly over the vegetables, stirring to prevent any burning. Add the sherry vinegar and stir. Add the sugar, chicken stock and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Return the chicken thighs to the pot, cover and transfer the pot to the oven. Cook until the chicken is tender, about 45 minutes. Serve hot with boiled or mashed potatoes or spooned over basmati rice.
  4. The cooked dish can be covered and refrigerated for up to 5 days or packaged and frozen for up to 2 months.