Serves: 4
½ lb (227 g) bacon, large dice
3 small carrots, sliced to discs about 1/8-inch (3.2-mm) thick
1 small yellow onion, diced
8 cloves garlic, smashed
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme
4 sprigs parsley
2 Tbs (1 fl oz/30 ml) sherry vinegar
½ cup (4 fl oz/118 ml) chicken stock
1½ cup (12 oz fl oz/355 ml) Victory Prima Pils (or similar)
1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
2 Tbs (1 fl oz/30 ml) olive oil
8 oz (227 g) crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbs butter
Kosher salt
Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp. Remove the bacon and pour off the drippings. Return the pan to the heat and add the carrot, onion, and garlic. Sauté until lightly browned. Add the bay leaf, thyme, and parsley. Then add the vinegar, chicken stock, and beer.
Return the bacon to the pan. Nestle the chicken into the pan under the liquid. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 35–40 minutes.
In a separate pan, heat the olive oil over high heat. Sauté the mushrooms until lightly browned. Add the mushrooms to the chicken for the last few minutes of cooking. Remove from the heat.
Gently remove the chicken from the pan and whisk in the butter. Return the chicken to the pan, salt to taste, and serve.
Beer suggestions: Pair with a farmhouse ale such as Boulevard Tank 7 (Kansas City, Missouri).