Chicken fricassee on the kamado with crispy skin and egg yolk sauce

Steps

1. Joint the chicken

   Cut the chicken into 8 pieces and keep as much bone in as possible: two drumsticks, two thighs, two breast pieces on the bone and the wings. The back, carcass and any skin and fat trimmings go aside for the stock. Break the back into pieces for more surface to roast. Pat the chicken pieces very dry and salt them.

2. Fire up the kamado

   Set up the kamado for indirect cooking with the plate setter in, at 180 to 200 degrees. Put the Dutch oven and the second pan on the grate to heat up with it.

3. Roast the bones

   Put the carcass pieces in the second pan with a splash of oil and roast them deep brown, 15 to 20 minutes with the lid closed, stirring now and then. Halfway through, add the shallot skins and mushroom stems: the skins give the stock a deep brown colour.

4. Sear the chicken

   10 min

   Pour a thin layer of oil into the Dutch oven and lay the chicken in skin side down, in two batches so the pan stays hot. Put the grill stone or a heavy pan on top as a weight so the skin makes full contact. Let it colour for 8 to 10 minutes until the skin is deep golden and releases by itself. Briefly turn the drumsticks and wings. The chicken doesn't need to be cooked through yet. Take it out and set aside.

5. Make the stock

   20 min

   Pour the stock over the roasted bones in the second pan, add the thyme, bay leaf and dried porcini and let it simmer gently for 20 minutes with the lid closed. Then strain the stock and keep it warm.

6. Reduce the cream

   Put the saucepan with the cream at the edge of the grate, away from the heat, and reduce it uncovered by a third until it thickens slightly and turns golden. Cream scorches easily, so stir regularly.

7. Shallots and mushrooms

   Add 60 g butter and the shallots to the Dutch oven. The butter and the juices from the shallots lift the browned bits; if the bottom is very dark, pop the Dutch oven lid on for a moment. Add the mushrooms once the shallots are soft and golden, and cook until they release their liquid and take on colour.

8. Deglaze

   Deglaze with the white wine, scrape the bottom clean and let it bubble until the alcohol has cooked off.

9. Cook in the stock

   20 min

   Return the chicken to the Dutch oven skin side up. Ladle the stock in around the edge until the bones are submerged, but keep the skin as dry as possible. Lay a cartouche of baking paper over the chicken, close the kamado and let it cook gently for 20 minutes at 160 to 180 degrees.

10. Crisp the skin again

    7 min

    Lift the chicken out of the Dutch oven and place it skin side up on a rack or in a cast-iron pan. Lightly brown 40 g butter and brush it over the skin. Remove the plate setter with heat-proof gloves, open the vents to 250 degrees and put the chicken directly over the coals with the lid closed. After 5 to 8 minutes the skin is crispy again; baste once more with brown butter and the juices in between. The core temperature must reach 74 degrees.

11. Thicken the sauce

    Meanwhile, stir the reduced cream into the stock in the Dutch oven and let it simmer briefly until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Take it off the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Whisk the egg yolks with the mustard, stir in a few spoonfuls of warm sauce and pour it back into the pot. Warm very gently at the edge of the grate until the sauce steams but doesn't boil: egg yolk sets at around 75 degrees.

12. Finish and serve

    Season the sauce with black pepper, lemon juice and a little tarragon. Lay the chicken skin side up in the sauce, spoon the brown butter from the pan over the skin and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Serve with a wedge of lemon.