Chicken Sauce Piquant

I may have missed the boat with Mardi Gras last week, but I'm pretty new to Southern cuisine so I see it as a great opportunity to learn a whole bunch of new dishes that were brought out by the Mardi Gras festivities. All of the recipes I read about last week sound delicious so I'm not too cut up about enjoying them one week late. Tonight's recipe comes from the blog Newf in My Soup which I found via, you guessed it, foodgawker. I think my workload may have been a little light of late! This recipe may take a little longer than your average weeknight meal, but it smells so awesome while it's cooking that you won't mind one bit. There's also a nice chunk of simmering time at the end, so if your rice is set to cook you can get about and do everything else you need to get done in an evening. I spent the 45minutes feeling guilty about not going for a run.... I'll just have to make up for it later in the week!

The chicken pieces looked amazing all covered in the spices. I love the fiery colour of paprika and was almost sad to pop the chicken into the mix with the broth and veggies, I bet it would make a good dish just fried on its own. I may just try that sometime I think. I was also quite excited to find fresh poblano chilies for this dish, given I could only find dry the last couple of days I've been by the market, once again I am already missing them for the day when we eventually end up in New Zealand - the land of plenty, but not plenty of chilies. I was also really stoked to be able to use my very own chicken stock, for the first time. Making your own stock is probably normal for many of you, but it was new to me and I was super pleased by how everything turned out. It was all pretty tasty, but I do feel like it needed a little more.. depth.

I'm starting to really get into this Southern thing, and I'm super excited as we have another Southern themed dish coming tomorrow (and we're still working through the braised beef from last night's tacos - I love meals that lend themselves so well to lunch leftovers!).

1 1/2 tablespoons salt


2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper


1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper


2 teaspoons cayenne pepper


2 teaspoons chili powder


1 teaspoon paprika


1 (3- to 4-pound) chicken, boned and cut into 1-inch cubes (to save time, use two boneless, skinless breasts and four boneless thighs)


3/4 cup vegetable oil or lard


1 cup all-purpose flour


1 small onion, diced


3 celery stalks, diced


1 small poblano chile, seeded and diced


1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped


5 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced


2 cups canned tomatoes
5 cups chicken broth


1 tablespoon dried thyme
4 bay leaves
4 dashes of hot sauce


Steamed rice (ratio of 1 cup rice to 1 1/2 cups water, and 2 bay leaves)
Thinly sliced scallions, for garnish

Whisk together the salt, peppers, chili powder and paprika in a small bowl. Cut the chicken into 1-inch pieces and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle the spices over the chicken and use your hands to toss until evenly coated. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. Have all of the vegetables prepared, the tomatoes cut, and the broth measured out.



Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it begins to smoke slightly. While the oil heats, toss the chicken with flour to coat. Shake off the excess flour from the chicken, transfer the pieces to the hot oil and fry until golden brown on all sides. Fry the chicken in two to three batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan — the chicken pieces should be in one layer, not on top of each other.

Reserve the leftover flour. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chicken to a deep plate, leaving the oil in the pan.



Add the remaining flour to the oil and cook, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes to create a medium-brown, peanut butter–colored roux.

Add the onion, celery, poblano, and garlic and cook 5 minutes more.

Add the chicken, tomatoes, broth, thyme, bay leaves and hot sauce.

Simmer over low heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened to a light gravy and the chicken is tender enough to shred with a fork. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more salt or hot sauce as desired.

Serve over rice, garnished with scallions.