Delicious Poulet Saute Recipe With Help From Country Valley Foods

When I was recently asked if I would like to review a Premium Meat Hamper from Country Valley Foods Mr B had the laptop out of my hands and was typing a hasty ‘YES YES YES’  before I even had a chance to blink.  I think he feels that, finally, all my time spent beavering on the laptop has become worthwhile!

Country Valley are a family business, first established in 1971, based in the North East and are now a premier supplier of top quality meat, poultry, game and delicatessen products and, even better, they deliver!

To say that we were a little bit delighted when the foam-lined box, cooled with integral ice packs, arrived at the door would be somewhat of an understatement. Our Premium Meat Hamper retails at £50 and contained :

• 2 x 6oz Grand Reserve Centre Cut Sirloin Steaks
• 1 x 500g pack of Grand Reserve Steak Mince  
• 1 x 1.3kg Whole Herb Fed Chicken
  
• 4 x 8oz Local Pork Sirloin Steaks
• 2 x 8oz English Fresh Chicken Fillets
• 4 x 4oz Grand Reserve Steak Burgers
• 1 x 450g pack of Riverside Thick Pork Sausages
• 2 x 4 Rib Grand Reserve French Trim Racks of Lamb

All of the above is also suitable for home-freezing.

So far we have tried both the Herb Fed Chicken and the Grand Reserve Sirloin Steaks.  I pride myself on being able to cook a half-decent roast chicken with our usual supermarket staple but the difference between that and this was immediately apparent.  The skin had a lovely yellow colour even prior to cooking and I have never, ever, cooked a chicken that carved so well.  It was moist, succulent and truly delicious.

Mr B however sometimes finds it a little more difficult to cook my medium-well steak to my, somewhat exacting, standards.  However, in his own words, he couldn’t go wrong with the Grand Reserve Sirloin Steaks.  The quality again was obvious even before it hit the pan and the resulting meal was to die for.

Last night we gave the chicken fillets a whirl as part of the following recipe.  It is a Nigel Slater recipe that we stumbled across in The Observer many moons ago and has been a firm favourite since.  These fillets, as well as being HUGE, were also tender and moist and very, very tasty.

Nigel’s Classic Poulet Saute

• 1 chicken.  We tend to use just a combination of chicken thighs, breasts, fillets etc.
• 60g butter
• Olive oil
• 250ml white wine
• 250ml chicken stock
• 2-3 tbsp tarragon
• 2-3 tbsp parsley

1. Melt half the butter in a deep sided pan with 1 tbsp olive oil.  Add the chicken in batches and brown the meat first and then cook skin-side down until a golden, nutty colour.  Remember the dark meat will take longer to cook than the breasts.
2. When all of the meat is cooked, season and then return it all to the pan with the remaining butter, cover and cook on a low heat for 25 minutes.
3. Remove the chicken to a warm dish and pour in your wine and some of the stock.
4. Turn the heat up and allow to simmer until reduced to half of it’s original volume, scraping at the pan stickings and allowing them to dissolve into the sauce.
5. Season to taste and then add your tarragon and parsley along with one last knob of butter.

We serve this alongside lightly sautéed new potatoes and trimmed french beans and it has become one of Mr B’s signature dishes.  Always a complete delight.

This recipe also works really well with Aldi’s Henri De Lorgere Macon-Village for white wine lovers or any decent red from The Rhone Valley.  I also think this goats cheese tarte tatin would make a perfect starter.

We can’t wait to try the rest of our Country Valley Box and will have one more recipe post for you soon so stay tuned!

Disclosure: We were sent the Country Valley Premium Meat Hamper free of charge for the purpose of this review.  All opinions are my own and 100% honest.

 

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