Poulet au Vinaigre may sound fancy, but it is a simple French dish featuring chicken legs cooked in white wine vinegar with shallots & garlic.
Not only is this dish simple, but it is also pretty quick for a "braise"; it will take around 45 minutes to prepare and cook.
Chicken Legs Cooked in White Wine Vinegar
Everything kinda sounds special in French, dishes like chicken chasseur, petit pois a la Francaise, poulet Gaston Gerard and hachis Parmentier all have names with gravitas if French is not one of your spoken languages.
Poulet au vinaigre is no different; in reality, it means nothing more than chicken with vinegar.
Like almost all of my dishes, my version of this glorious French Brasserie dish is scaled down to feed just 2 people.
I use chicken legs, which are seasoned and dredged in flour before being browned in a little butter.
The sauce is equally simple, featuring a combination of white wine vinegar, stock, tomato puree, garlic, shallots and a little tarragon.
You may think that this fantastic "stew" will take hours to make, but you would be wrong; all of this loveliness can be on your table in around 45 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use different cuts of chicken?
Yes, you can use any cut of chicken you like. Chicken thighs or drumsticks can be cooked as per my recipe.
If you want to use chicken breast, you will need to amend the cooking times a little. At stage 11, I would begin to check the chicken breast after 9 or 10 minutes.
Can I use a different type of vinegar?
Yes, if you wish, but try and use a good-quality vinegar in this recipe because it is the major flavour!
Champagne vinegar, if you can find it, is fantastic, as is tarragon vinegar. Cider vinegar can work, but it is sweeter and less acidic than white wine vinegar; as a result, you may need a little more.
Avoid malt vinegar or white distilled vinegar; they are both far too strong.
Can I use onions rather than shallots?
Yes, but the "petals" of an onion are thicker than shallot, and will need cooking a little longer to soften them.
What is tomato puree?
This question gets asked by US-based readers all of the time, tomato puree in the UK means tomato concentrate, to you guys.
Can I make this in advance?
Yes, this recipe reheats beautifully and actually gets better after a day it two.
Serving Suggestions
For me, the ideal thing to serve with poulet au vinaigre is some form of mash.
The obvious choice for many is mashed potato, but I would urge you to slow your roll and consider other options.
The sharp flavours in this dish are great with a little sweetness. In the pictures on this page, I've served my chicken in vinegar with celeriac mash. The sweet and nutty flavours are a perfect match.
Swede is another ingredient that I think works wonderfully. Either my clapshot recipe (swede and potato mash) or swede and carrot mash is superb.
If you want to add some greens, something like my garlic green beans amandine or some simply roasted tenderstem broccoli works exceptionally well.
Equipment Used
I only name-check brands of equipment if I think they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Hob/Stovetop.
- 25cm or 10" frying pan with a lid.
- Chopping board.
- Kitchen knife.
- Kitchen tongs.
- Stirring and serving spoons.
- A combination of weighing scales, measuring jug, cups and spoons.
- Quick-read meat thermometer.
Poulet au Vinaigre Recipe French Chicken Cooked in Vinegar
Ingredients
- 2 Chicken Legs Bone in Skin on
- 2-3 tablespoon Flour
- ½-¾ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 3 Garlic Cloves
- 1 Large Echalion or Banana Shallot 75g
- 2-3 Sprigs of Fresh Tarragon
- 35 g Butter 2 Tbsp
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 tablespoon Tomato Puree
- 75 ml White Wine Vinegar ⅓ Cup
- 175 ml Chicken Stock ¾ Cup
Instructions
- Peel the garlic cloves and slice them as thinly as you can.
- Cut the shallot in half, peel it and then slice it into very thin slices.
- Pick the leaves from the tarragon sprigs, discard the stems and then finely chop the leaves.
- Season the chicken legs with the salt and pepper, then dredge them with the flour, tapping off any excess.
- Heat a 25cm or 10" frying pan over a medium-high heat, then add the olive oil and the butter. Once the butter begins to foam, sear the chicken legs on both sides, remove them from the pan and set them aside. This will take 3-4 minutes on each side.
- Reduce the heat under the pan to medium and toss in the shallots, and soften them in the butter for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the tomato puree and cook it for a minute, stirring constantly.
- Add the garlic cloves and cook for another minute, again stirring all of the time.
- Pour in the white wine vinegar, bring it to a boil and reduce it by half.
- Toss in the tarragon, pour in the chicken stock, reduce by a third, and then have a taste, tweaking the seasoning with a little salt if required. Remember that the chicken is generously seasoned already.
- Return the chicken to the pan, spooning over a little sauce, then reduce the heat to low and add a lid, then cook until the chicken reaches at least 73°C or 165°F, which will take between 12 and 17 minutes. I prefer to cook chicken legs a little longer, up towards 80°C or 175°F.
Tessa
Saturday 18th of January 2025
Thank you for doing this. We had it the other day. I used verjuice for the vinegar. It was lovely.
Brian Jones
Saturday 1st of February 2025
You are more than welcome Tessa... glad you enjoyed it :)