Poule au Pot Feu de Camp Lyonnaise

Another camping trip this spring led me, the wife and our close friends Candace and Steven to Cowans Gap State Park which straddles the line between Franklin and Fulton Counties in south central Pennsylvania.  Lovely country out there, but you can forget this place if you camp in tents.  Apparently the DCNR thinks site maintenance consists of dumping another load of gravel on the pad every year.  Consequently it took me an hour just to get the tent stakes in, and I had to dig down to the Devonian layer in order to do it.  And nothing feels quite as nice in a tent than sharp stones rippling through the nylon floor.

While in the area, I recommend a visit to the Mountain House Bar and Grill on Route 30 near the top of "Big Mountain."  Because the bar also straddles the county line and half of it lies in  a "dry" township, they only serve beer.  But based on the look of the clientele, this might be for the best.

A fun spot to check out is Mercersburg, south of the park.  It's got a charming main street with B&Bs, bars and restaurants with fairly sophisticated menus that cater to the crowd visiting nearby Whitetail ski resort.  Oh, and three of R.E. Lee's sesech cavalry had a bit of a bad day there during the Gettysburg campaign.

But on to the food . . .

This recipe really requires our footed dutch oven with the rimmed lid.  You still have yours, right?

For four people you'll want six to eight chicken thighs (around three pounds) with skin on.  A two or three pound bag of yellow onions and an equal weight of waxy potatoes like Yukon Gold make up the vegetable portion.  You'll also want a couple of cans of chicken broth, or beef if you want more intense meaty flavor, or water if you're packing light.  Get you some woodsy herbs, too.  I used sage, thyme and rosemary that were about to die in my crisper.  FYI, parsley won't do much in this recipe except as a garnish.  Its flavor will be overwhelmed by the long cooking and the VINEGAR.   That's right, you'll need to bring a wee jar of vinegar, that's what makes this Lyonnaise.  Salt and pepper of course, and some kind of fat: oil, lard, etc are it for the ingredients.

Start a fire of hardwood charcoal, or just plain wood.  Enough to burn for an hour or so.

French the onions.  That means slice in half through the root, peel, lay flat and slice into crescent moon shaped slices lengthwise.  You can do this ahead, of course.  Then cut the spuds into nice sized chunks, skin on. Bigger is better than smaller, here.  Tie up your herbs, stems and all, into a bundle (un bouquet garni, en français). Season the chicken well with salt BUT NOT pepper, yet.  Pepper burns.

Spread out the charcoal and get your dutch oven in there to heat.  Add fat, and then the chicken, skin side down, to brown a bit.  You don't need to brown it too much because there will be more browning later . . . you'll see.  Turn and brown the other side, then remove to the lid and keep warm (and fly-free) near the fire.  Pop in the onions and cook until translucent and starting to brown.  Add the spuds and herbs and NOW the pepper, then stir to combine.  Pour in enough broth or water to just cover the vegetables. When it comes up to the boil, return the chicken thighs, skin side up, in one layer, covering the onions and potatoes.  Put the lid back on and add plenty of hot coals to the lid.   Now let the magic happen.  The veggies and meat will get moist heat from below while the skin will brown under the dry heat of the lid.  Check after about 30 minutes to make sure the tops aren't burning, but don't keep lifting the lid every five minutes.  Remember "if you're lookin, it ain't cookin." When the thighs are a delightful mahogany color and the potatoes yield to a blade it's ready, but if you take the coals off of the lid, this can simmer for a while.

To serve it forth, plate the chicken.  Dig out and discard the herb bundle.  Stir a tablespoon of vinegar, or more to taste, into the vegetables and serve them on the side.  We enjoyed ours with ice cold Peroni, and it was as delicious as l'abbraccio di una bella donna.  The late spring woodland sunset didn't hurt.