Recipes
Chicken in Beer Sauce: Viking Weeknight Cooking
Tender chicken braised in dark beer with mustard and thyme: an uncomplicated Viking recipe for busy evenings, ready in about an hour.
Not every day was a feast day. On ordinary evenings, Northern tables held whatever farm and pantry could offer - and beer was always part of it. In this recipe from Viking Feast, it becomes a dark, malty braising sauce that leaves the chicken meltingly tender. Honest four-ingredient cooking that practically makes itself.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken or 2 lbs chicken thighs (1 kg)
- 2 onions
- 1 ¼ cups dark beer (300 ml)
- 2 tbsp mustard
- Salt, pepper, thyme
Instructions
- Brown the chicken pieces in oil on all sides.
- Add the onions and pour in the beer.
- Stir in mustard and herbs, then simmer gently for 45 to 60 minutes until tender.
Fun fact: Beer was a staple in the North - brewed from barley, it was more nourishing and often safer than water, and the whole family drank it.
The Skald’s Tip
The darker the beer, the deeper the sauce - a malty dark lager or a smoky cellar beer gives the best colour. The barley in that beer was the same grain used for bread: our barley flatbread is the perfect side for dipping.
