Chicken Sauce Piquant

Donald Link's Real Cajun

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 3 1⁄2 lbs chicken, deboned, cut in 1-inch pieces
•  mixed spice (recipe follows)
• 3⁄4 cup  vegetable oil
• 1  cup flour
• 1  small onion, diced
• 1  small  poblano pepper
• 1  tablespoon  chopped garlic
• 3  stalks celery, diced
• 5  medium roma tomatoes, diced
• 2  cups canned tomatoes
• 1  tablespoon dried thyme
• 4  bay leaves
• 5  cups  chicken stock
• 4  dashes  hot sauce
•  hot cooked rice
•  diced scallion, for garnish

• SPICE MIX

• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons salt
• 2  teaspoons black pepper
• 1⁄2 teaspoon white pepper
• 2  teaspoons cayenne
• 2  teaspoons chili powder
• 1  teaspoon paprika

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients for spice mix and toss chicken in spice mix, making certain the chicken is evenly coated. Wash your hands.
2. In wide bottom pot or Dutch oven, heat oil until it begins to smoke slightly. While waiting, coat the chicken with the flour in a large mixing bowl, tossing the chicken with your hands to make sure it all gets coated well. Shake excess flour off the chicken, reserving the leftover flour.
3. Pan fry the chicken over medium heat. Don't crowd the pan with the chicken or it will not get the right color. The pieces should be side by side, not on top of one another. When chicken has reached the desired color, remove it from the pan with a slotted spatula. Most likely you will have to do this in two batches.
4. Add the remaining flour to the oil in the pan, and cook over medium heat for about five minutes to make a medium brown roux. Add onions, peppers, garlic and celery, and cook five minutes more. Add the tomatoes, chicken, dried thyme, bay leaves, stock and hot sauce.
5. Simmer over low heat for 45 minutes. Serve over rice with freshly diced scallions.