Country Captain Recipes

COUNTRY CAPTAIN

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Combine the flour, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and the thyme in a bowl. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat until it foams. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, shaking off excess, and fry, in batches if needed, until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and drain off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat in the skillet.
• Return the skillet to medium heat, add the bacon and fry until crispy. Transfer to a plate. Once cool, crumble and set aside.
• Add the onion, pepper, celery, garlic, curry powder and 1 tablespoon of the currants to the skillet and sauté over medium-high heat until soft and fragrant, about 7 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and their juices, bring to a boil and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of an ovenproof casserole large enough to hold the chicken snugly in one layer. Arrange the chicken on top. Pour the remaining sauce over and around the chicken. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for 15 minutes more.
• Top with the crumbled bacon, remaining currants and slivered almonds. Serve with cooked rice and any condiments you wish.

COUNTRY CAPTAIN CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Place chicken in a large bowl. Mix flour, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper; sprinkle over chicken and toss to coat. In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown chicken in batches on all sides; remove from pan., Add onions, peppers and garlic to drippings; cook and stir over low heat until tender. Increase heat to medium-high. Add curry powder; cook and stir 1 minute longer. Stir in tomatoes, currants, parsley, thyme and remaining salt. Bring to a boil. Return chicken to pan., Bake, covered, 35-45 minutes or until chicken is tender. Skim fat. Serve chicken and sauce over rice; sprinkle with almonds and, if desired, additional parsley.

SLOW-COOKER COUNTRY CAPTAIN CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place onion, pepper and garlic in a 6-qt. slow cooker. Arrange chicken pieces over vegetables., Whisk the next 5 ingredients with the chicken broth. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Add raisins and tomatoes. Reduce heat to low and cook until chicken reaches 165°, about 2-1/2 hours. Serve over rice; if desired, sprinkle with parsley.

COUNTRY CAPTAIN

Steps:

• Combine the ginger-garlic paste with the turmeric, chile powder and vinegar in a large bowl, then toss the chicken in the marinade to coat. Let the chicken rest at room temperature while cooking the vegetables to give the spices time to infuse the meat.
• Heat an inch of oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high until it reaches 340 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. (If you don't have an instant-read thermometer, drop a nub of potato into the oil to test: If you get a fervent sizzle, the oil is hot enough.) Add the onion and fry, turning occasionally with a spider or slotted spoon, until the onion is soft and uniformly dark chestnut brown in color, 9 to 11 minutes. Scoop out the onion and let drain on a plate lined with paper towels.
• Bring the oil back up to 340 degrees. Add the diced potato and fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes. Scoop out the potatoes and let drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Season generously with salt while still hot.
• While the potatoes cook, set a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet over high heat. When the pan is just beginning to smoke, drizzle in 2 tablespoons of oil from the saucepan and swirl to cover the bottom of the pan. Add half of the marinated chicken, making sure to leave space between the pieces. Let cook undisturbed until browned and crisp, 4 to 5 minutes, then flip and cook to brown the other sides, another 4 to 5 minutes. Scrape chicken and any accumulated juices onto a serving platter or bowl. Repeat with remaining chicken, cooking in 2 tablespoons oil from the saucepan.
• Add the onion and potato to the dish with the chicken. Stir gently, just enough for the juices from the chicken to gloss the onion and potato. Serve immediately with the bread.

LEE BROS. COUNTRY CAPTAIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Pour the broth into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Put the currants in a small bowl and pour enough broth over them to cover. Set aside. In another small bowl, combine the curry powder, garam masala, salt, and black pepper and reserve.
• Scatter the bacon in a 4 to 6 quart enameled cast-iron pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Stir the pieces around occasionally until the bacon is firm and just golden brown, about 5 minutes. With the slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a small bowl and reserve.
• Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pot, reserving the excess fat in a small bowl. Brown the chicken thighs in batches over medium-high heat, taking care not to crowd them in the pot, until they are golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Add the reserved bacon fat, 1 teaspoon at a time, if the pot becomes too dry. Remove the chicken and reserve in a medium bowl.
• Add 2 teaspoons reserved bacon fat to the pot (if there is none left, use 2 teaspoons canola or vegetable oil). Add the chile and toast the chile in the fat, about 30 seconds per side, until very fragrant.
• Add the carrots, bell peppers, onions, and garlic and cook until slightly softened, about 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes, spice mixture, ginger, and the currants and their broth. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the tomatoes have cooked down to a puree and the sauce has thickened around the vegetables, about 8 minutes.
• Nest the chicken thighs gently in the vegetable sauce so that the skin side faces up and is above the surface of the gravy. Tent the pot loosely with foil and transfer to the middle rack of the oven. Bake until the country captain resembles a roiling stew around the chicken thighs, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the sauce has thickened further and the chicken skin is just beginning to crisp, about 15 minutes more.
• Remove from the oven, skim any excess fat from the surface, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard the chile. With tongs, transfer 3 thighs to each of 4 wide, deep bowls filled with 1 cup hot white rice. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and the rice and garnish with the reserved bacon, almonds, and parsley.

THROWDOWN'S COUNTRY CAPTAIN CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the coconut rice with green onions:
• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains in the butter. Add the coconut milk, water, salt and pepper and bring to a boil, stir once, cover the pot, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until tender, about 16 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and let the rice sit, covered for 5 minutes. Remove the lid, fluff with a fork and fold in the green onion. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Heat the oil in a large, high sided saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until golden brown and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels. Add the butter and 1 tablespoon of canola to the rendered bacon fat in the pan and heat until it begins to shimmer.
• Put the flour in a shallow bowl and season liberally with salt and pepper. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper, dredge in the flour and tap off any excess. Sear the chicken on both sides until golden brown. Remove to plate.
• Add the onion and bell pepper to the pan, season with salt and pepper and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and the serrano and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the curry powder and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and cook until reduced by 3/4. Add the chicken stock, bring to a simmer and reduce slightly. Stir in the tomatoes, currants or raisins, thyme, 2 teaspoons of honey and season with a little salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Nestle the chicken thighs into the pan, cover with a tight fitting lid and bake in the oven for 35 minutes. Remove the lid after 35 minutes and continue to bake an additional 15 minutes.
• Remove the chicken to a platter and tent slightly to keep warm. Put the pan and sauce back on the burner over high heat and bring to a boil. Let the sauce reduce slightly, then season with salt, pepper, and honey, to taste. Stir in the parsley. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and top with the bacon, almonds and more parsley. Serve with Coconut Rice with Green Onions.
• Combine all the spices in a small bowl.

COUNTRY CAPTAIN SOUP

Steps:

• Heat oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic; sauté until vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Add chicken, curry powder, ginger and crushed red pepper; stir 2 minutes. Add 4 cups broth, tomatoes and apple and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before continuing.)
• Stir orzo and currants into soup and simmer until orzo is just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with cilantro and dollop of yogurt.

COUNTRY CAPTAIN

Steps:

• In a small bowl, cover currants with warm chicken stock. Set aside.
• Fry the bacon in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp, drain on paper towels, crumble and reserve. Drain all but 3 tablespoons bacon grease from pan.
• Heat grease in the skillet over medium heat. Dredge chicken in seasoned flour. Shake off excess and cook in grease until tender, about 30 minutes, turning pieces frequently for uniform browning.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove chicken to a bowl. Add celery, onions, bell pepper and garlic to drippings in pan. Sauté vegetables, about 5 minutes. Strain stock from currants and add stock to skillet along with the tomatoes, curry, brown sugar, salt, thyme, mace and pepper.
• Stir tomato mixture, bring to boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Place chicken pieces in a large shallow baking dish, cover with tomato mixture and bake for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with reserved currants, almonds, parsley and the crumbled bacon and return to oven for 10 to 15 minutes more. Serve hot with steamed rice.

COUNTRY CAPTAIN CHICKEN

Steps:

• Cut chicken into 8 pieces.
• Wash pieces and pat dry.
• Coat THE CHICKEN PIECES with a mixture of the flour, salt and pepper.
• Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet; brown the chicken on all sides over medium high heat.
• Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and add the onion, green pepper, garlic, curry powder and thyme.
• Stir over low heat to loosen the browned particles.
• Add the stewed tomatoes . . . and then return the chicken to skillet, skin side up.
• Cover and cook slowly until tender, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Stir the currants into the sauce and serve accompanied by almonds.