Chicken& Cherries Jubliee

Chicken and cherries jubilee takes a 1960s dinner-party flourish (flaming cherry-brandy sauce) and drops it onto slow-cooked chicken for retro drama with less fuss. Two whole chickens get browned in butter, slid into the crockpot with cherry juice, chili sauce, and bouillon, and left alone for 6 to 8 hours until the meat surrenders at the bone.

The sauce is where the pageantry kicks in. Pot juices reduce in a saucepan with sherry and the rest of the cherry syrup, thicken with a cornstarch slurry, then welcome canned Bing cherries for the final warm-through. Right before serving, warmed brandy goes on top of the sauce and gets lit at the table for a brief but spectacular blue flame.

The sweet cherries play against the savory slow-braised chicken the same way cranberry works with turkey, and the chili sauce in the braise keeps things from tipping dessert-sweet. Serve over rice or with buttered noodles to catch the sauce.

Pro Tips

• Brown the chickens thoroughly before they go into the crockpot. Skipping this step means pale, bland meat even after 8 hours of cooking.
• Use good-quality canned Bing cherries in heavy syrup. Fresh or frozen cherries can substitute, but the syrup is what gives the sauce body.
• Warm the brandy in a small pan before flambéing, not straight from the bottle. Cold brandy will not ignite reliably.
• Flambé at the table for the full effect, or in the kitchen if you have low ceilings or anxious guests. Let the flames fully extinguish before plating.
• Skim the fat from the pot juices before reducing. Unskimmed sauce tastes greasy and coats the plate with a film.

Variations

• Swap cherries for pitted sour cherries for a more tart, brighter sauce.
• Use boneless chicken thighs instead of whole chickens for a smaller portion. Reduce cook time to 4 hours.
• Replace brandy with kirsch (cherry brandy) for a more intensely cherry-scented flambé.