So, I got this pressure cooker/multi pot thing-y for my birthday (my husband loves risotto, and this puppy makes a fine one), but I wanted to insure that this machine taking up storage space in the corner of his closet (mine is kinda filled with extra crockery – long story – don’t ask) was more than a one trick pony, so, I consulted a couple of the pressure cooker cookbooks I got for Christmas, and decided to try a whole chicken.
Really, really good.
Moist, tender, and oh! so tasty, this is one fine chicken – and pretty darned simple to toss together with the help of an electronic pressure cooker that browns and sauées and makes the roux all in one pot.
The only caveat I have is – do not buy the “cook a whole chicken in just 25 minutes” line. Sure, the time the chicken takes to cook in the pressure cooker, under pressure, is 25 minutes; but… there’s the prep work, and the browning, and bringing the pot up to pressure – I am new to this kind of cooking, but it seems to me that that takes a while – and then the resting after you’ve pulled the chicken from the pot before carving.
Still and all – the end result is a really nice chicken – and gravy – with not too, too much fuss at all, in an hour or so.
INGREDIENTS
•1 whole chicken (about 4 lb)
•1/4 cup white vinegar
•1/2 tsp salt
•1/2 tsp black pepper
•1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper
•1 tsp paprika
•1 tbsp veggie oil
•2 cups diced sweet onion
•3 cloves garlic, minced
•1/2 tsp dried rosemary
•2 tbsp flour
•1/2 cup white wine
•3/4 cup chicken stock
•1 tbsp Sherry Peppers Sauce
•2 tbsp unsalted butter
•2 tsp lemon juice
Remove and discard the giblets from the chicken.
Drizzle the inside and outside of the chicken with the vinegar, then set aside to rest for ten minutes.
Pat the chicken dry, then season with the salt, black and Aleppo peppers, and the paprika.
Add the oil to your pressure cooker over medium high heat (or set your automatic cooker to “BROWN”) and heat until the oil just begins to smoke.
Add the chicken to the oil, breast side down, and cook for four minutes. I must confess that I love this feature of my pressure cooker/multi pot – I can brown and sauté in one pot, and clean up so far has been a breeze.
Using a good pair of tongs, gently turn the chicken over and brown the back side for an additional four minutes. Remove the chicken to a platter.
Discard all but one tablespoon of the oil and/or fat from the pot, then add the onion and cook for five minutes. Add the garlic and rosemary and cook for another 30 seconds or so – just until they become fragrant – then stir in the flour and continue to cook and stir for another 30 seconds.
Add the white wine, scraping up any browned bits off the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon, and continue to cook for another minute or so, until the sauce has reduced slightly.
Stir in the stock and Sherry Peppers Sauce, then set the chicken, this time breast side up, in the pot with the sauce.
Lock the lid in place, bring to high pressure, and cook for 25 minutes.
Turn the pot off, quick release the pressure, then carefully unlock and remove the lids, keeping the steam (there’s gonna be a heckuva lot of it) away from you.
Carefully transfer the chicken to a cutting board, tent loosely with foil, and let rest for 15 minutes.
Skim excess fat from the surface of the sauce in the pot, then bring to a gently boil (that browning/sauté button on the front of the pot comes in wicked handy, again) and whisk in the butter and lemon juice. Taste the gravy, add salt and/or pepper, if you think it needs it, and serve with the chicken.