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1
Coat a large 7-quart Dutch oven or rondeau with olive oil and bring to a medium-high heat.
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2
Pat the capon dry and sprinkle generously with salt.
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3
Working in batches if necessary, coat the capon gently with flour and put immediately in the hot oil.
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4
Only flour the capon that you are working with in that batch-no premature flouring!
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5
Premature flouring will result in doughy, gritty, mealy capon rather than crispy.
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6
Brown on all sides, and then remove from the pan to paper towels.
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7
Remove any excess oil from the pan.
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8
Reduce the heat to medium and add the bacon lardons to the pan with a tiny splash of new olive oil.
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9
Cook the bacon until it is brown and crispy.
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10
Add the celery and onions, season with salt and cook until the veggies are starting to soften, are very aromatic and have no color, 7 to 8 minutes.
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11
Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
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12
Add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms give off their juices, 4 to 5 minutes.
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13
Stir in the brandy and cook until it has reduced down.
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14
Add the tomato paste and stir to combine.
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15
The mixture will become very thick-that is good!
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16
Stir in the wine and bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 4 to 5 minutes.
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17
Meanwhile, bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil over medium heat.
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18
Toss in the cipollini onions, skin and all!
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19
Cook the onions for 3 to 4 minutes and then strain.
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20
When the onions are cool enough to handle, remove the skin and discard, reserving the onions.
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21
Return the legs and thighs of the capon to the pan, reserving the breasts.
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22
Stir in enough chicken stock until the chicken is three- quarters covered.
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23
Add the bay leaves and thyme.
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24
Bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer.
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25
Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed.
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26
Add the cipollini onions and the potatoes.
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27
Partially cover the pan and simmer for 20 minutes.
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28
After the capon has simmered for 20 minutes, turn the legs and thighs over and add the breasts.
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29
Check the level of liquid and add more chicken stock if needed.
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30
Partially cover the pan and simmer for another 15 minutes.
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31
Remove the capon from the pan and skim the sauce if necessary.
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32
If the sauce is on the thin side, reduce it down until it becomes a sauce-like consistency.
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33
Season.
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34
Transfer the capon to a serving platter, garnish with chopped chives and serve with lots of the sauce.
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35
Chicken, bacon and mushrooms oh my!
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36
From Food Network Kitchens; after further testing and to ensure the best results this recipe has been altered from what was in the actual episode.
