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    Meat · Recipe · Belgium · Reference page

    Poulet à la bière

    poulet à la bière / kip in het bier

    Chicken drumsticks browned in butter, simmered in beer with a little onion and curry powder, then finished with mushrooms, leek, Dijon mustard and cream. This is Gabriel Gaté's version; he notes that a dark beer in the Belgian style is often preferred.

    Two golden chicken drumsticks with small brown mushrooms, softened leek and parsley in a light beer-and-cream sauce on a white plate.
    Editorial illustration of the documented recipe; not a photograph of a kitchen-tested result.
    Servings
    4
    Preparation
    20 min
    Cooking
    1 h
    Total
    1 h 20
    Difficulty
    Easy

    Equipment

    • Wide non-stick saucepan or sauté pan with a lid
    • Warm serving dish
    Servings4

    Ingredients

    Shopping list

    Method

    1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and coat it lightly with flour.

    2. Heat the oil and butter in the pan over a medium-high heat and brown the chicken on all sides.

      Why Browning gives colour to a sauce made only from beer; the flour on the skin helps thicken it.

    3. Add the onion and curry powder and stir for 2 minutes.

      Timer · 2 min2:00

    4. Pour in the beer, lower the heat and simmer gently for 25 minutes.

      Timer · 25 min25:00

    5. Add the mushrooms and leek, bring back to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes or until softened. Move the chicken and vegetables to a dish and keep them warm.

      Timer · 10 min10:00

    6. Boil the cooking liquid until it is reduced to about 160 ml (⅔ cup). Stir in the mustard and cream, simmer for 1 minute until slightly thickened, add the parsley and correct the seasoning.

      Why Reducing concentrates the beer; the bitterness of some beers grows as they reduce, which is why a malty dark beer is the safer choice.

      Timer · 1 min1:00

    7. Spoon the leek and mushrooms onto plates, put two pieces of chicken on each and pour over the sauce.

    To drink & serve with

    Substitutions

    • Dark beer → Gaté says almost any beer works; a light lager gives a paler, thinner sauce.
    • Drumsticks → Chicken thighs on the bone, which stay juicy over the same time.
    • Plain flour (gluten-free) → Rice flour; but beer itself contains gluten, so use a gluten-free beer as well.

    Common mistakes

    • Using a very hoppy beer: the bitterness concentrates as the sauce reduces.
    • Boiling the sauce hard after the cream goes in: it can split.
    • Serving the chicken undercooked near the bone: test the thickest drumstick.

    Storage & reheating

    Refrigerate within 2 hours and eat within 2 days. Reheat once, gently, until steaming hot right through.

    Safety

    Contains gluten (flour, beer), milk (butter, cream) and mustard. Chicken must be cooked right through: juices clear, no pink meat at the bone, steaming hot (UK FSA).

    Allergens

    Gluten · Milk · Mustard

    Check labels: stock, bacon and sauces can contain further allergens.

    Beer as the cooking liquid

    Cooking meat in beer instead of wine is a habit of Belgium and the north of France, where beer was the everyday drink. The best-known example is the Flemish beef stew; chicken in beer is its quicker, lighter cousin.

    This version is by the French-born chef Gabriel Gaté, published by SBS. It is a short braise: the chicken simmers in 300 ml of beer for 25 minutes, the vegetables go in for ten more, and the liquid is then boiled down and finished with mustard and cream. Gaté notes that almost any beer can be used, but that "a dark beer in the style of some Belgian beers is often preferred".

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